DEFENCE

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance relating to the application of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Don Touhig: holding answer 21 July 2005
	The Joint Service Publication 765 "The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for Injury, Illness and Death due to Service (AFCS)" issued on 6 April 2005 will be placed in the Library. This document provides guidance on the AFCS, offering further explanation of the rules of the scheme as set out in Statutory Instrument 439 of 2005, including providing examples of how the rules are applied and how benefits are calculated. JSP 765 can also be found on the internet at www.mod.uk/issues/pensions and select heading "JSP 765 The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme for Injury, Illness or death due to Service".
	A Veterans Agency operational guide supporting the full IT-lead decision-making process which is due to be introduced later this year is currently being produced and will also be provided when complete by December 2005.

Cadets

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the strength of the (a) sea cadets, (b) air cadets and (c) army cadets in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Chorley is.

Don Touhig: The information requested is shown in the table:
	
		
			  Cadets Lancashire (excluding Chorley)  Chorley 
		
		
			 Sea 425 34 
			 Air 1,424 41 
			 Army 1,600 40 
		
	
	There are no members of the Combined Cadet Force in Chorley.

Iraq

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) financial assistance, (b) technical assistance and (c) personnel his Department is contributing to the clearing of mines in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group provides mentoring for the Iraqi Army 70 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Company, which, when it reaches full operational capability, will have the ability to conduct large scale mine clearing operations.
	UK Royal Engineers based in southern Iraq clear mines when necessary for operational purposes. The UK plays a much greater role in dealing with the large scale problem of abandoned unexploded ordnance in southern Iraq. To date more than 880,000 items of unexploded ordnance have been recovered or destroyed by UK forces in MND(SE).

Iraq

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many medals have been awarded to soldiers who have served or are serving in Iraq, broken down by medal designation.

Don Touhig: As at 26 August 2005, the following medals had been issued to military personnel who have served or are serving in Iraq.
	
		
			 Award Number awarded/issued 
		
		
			 Iraq Medal (1)72,000 
			 Victoria Cross 1 
			 George Cross 1 
			 Distinguished Service Order 12 
			 Conspicuous Gallantry Cross 8 
			 Distinguished Service Cross 1 
			 Military Cross 45 
			 Distinguished Flying Cross 11 
			 Bar to Distinguished Flying Cross 2 
			 Air Force Cross 2 
			 Queens Gallantry Medal 14 
			 George Medal 1 
		
	
	(1) This figure is based on the statistics for the total applications assessed, minus 2–3 per cent. which is the estimated percentage for those applications rejected as not meeting the eligibility criteria.

Media Relations

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Department has spent on external media relations in each month of the last year.

Don Touhig: Ministry of Defence expenditure on external assistance, of which consultants or companies employed to manage media relations is part, is available in the Libraries of both Houses for the years 1995–96 to 2003–04. Although this is broken down by various categories, the MOD does not centrally record expenditure on external media consultants. This information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Military Clothing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the (a) inks, (b) dyes, (c) bleach and (d) chemicals used in the printing of camouflage under the cut and sew contract have been tested for reaction on skin.

Adam Ingram: There is no requirement in our fabric specifications for these tests to be carried out. The camouflage items supplied by our contractor to date have met the required specification.

Military Explosive

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list for each of those countries in which UK armed forces are deployed how much military explosive was unaccounted for in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004 and (d) 2005.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence does not have any recorded losses of military explosive from overseas deployments in the period 2002–05.

Regiments

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which regiments are based in each region.

Don Touhig: I have assumed that my hon. Friend is referring to the locations of the Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) of major Regular Army Units, which can be found in the following tables. Major units are defined as those regional and deployable units with over 320 personnel and do not include Regular Army training establishments.
	
		Royal Armoured Corps
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 Household Cavalry (The Life Guards) South East 
			 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards Wales 
			 The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards  (Carabiniers and Greys) Scotland 
			 The Royal Dragoon Guards Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 The Queen's Royal Hussars  (The Queens Own and Royal Irish) London 
			 9th/12th Lancers (Prince of Wales's) East Midlands 
			 The Kings Royal Hussars North West 
			 The Light Dragoons North East 
			 The Queen's Royal Lancers East Midlands 
			 The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment South West 
		
	
	
		Infantry
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards London 
			 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards London 
			 1st Battalion The Scots Guards London 
			 1st Battalion The Irish Guards London 
			 1st Battalion The Welsh Guards London 
			 1 Battalion The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) Scotland 
			 1 Battalion The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment) Scotland 
			 1st Battalion The Kings Own Scottish Borderers North East 
			 1st Battalion The Black Watch (The Highland Regiment) Scotland 
			 1st Battalion The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) Scotland 
			 1st Battalion The Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) Scotland 
			 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) South East 
			 2nd Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires)  
			 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers London 
			 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers  
			 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment East of England 
			 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment  
			 1st Battalion The Kings Own Royal Border Regiment North West 
			 1st Battalion The Kings Regiment North West 
			 1st Battalion The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1st Battalion The Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment) Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1st Battalion The Queens Lancashire Regiment North West 
			 1st Battalion The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) Yorkshire and the Humber 
			 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment Northern Ireland 
			 1st Battalion The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment South West 
			 1st Battalion The Cheshire Regiment North West 
			 1st Battalion The Royal Welch Fusiliers Wales 
			 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Wales (24th/4 1st Foot) Wales 
			 1st Battalion The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment South West 
			 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) West Midlands 
			 1st Battalion The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's) West Midlands 
			 1st Battalion The Light Infantry  
			 2nd Battalion The Light Infantry South East 
			 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets  
			 2nd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets  
			 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment  
			 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment East of England 
			 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment  
			 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles South West 
			 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles  
		
	
	
		Royal Regiment of Artillery
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 1 Regiment Royal Horse Artillery  
			 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery  
			 4th Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 5th Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 7th (Parachute) Regiment Royal Horse Artillery  
			 12th Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 16th Regiment Royal Artillery London 
			 19th Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 26th Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 39th Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 40th Regiment Royal Artillery  
			 47th Regiment Royal Artillery  
		
	
	
		Royal Engineers
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 21 Engineer Regiment  
			 22 Engineer Regiment  
			 23 Engineer Regiment  
			 25 Engineer Regiment  
			 26 Engineer Regiment  
			 28 Engineer Regiment  
			 32 Engineer Regiment South East 
			 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal)  
			 35 Engineer Regiment  
			 36 Engineer Regiment  
			 38 Engineer Regiment  
			 39 Engineer Regiment  
			 42 Engineer Regiment (Geographic)  
			 170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group  
		
	
	
		Army Air Corps
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 1 Regiment Army Air Corps  
			 3 Regiment Army Air Corps  
			 4 Regiment Army Air Corps South East 
			 5 Regiment Army Air Corps  
			 9 Regiment Army Air Corps  
		
	
	
		Royal Logistics Corps
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 1 Logistic Support Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 2 Logistic Support Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 3 Close Support Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 4 Logistic Support Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 6 Supply Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 7 Transport Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 8 Transport Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 9 Supply Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 10 Transport Regiment Royal Logistics Corps South East 
			 11 (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Regiment  Royal Logistics Corps  
			 13 Air Assault Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 17 Port & Maritime Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 23 Pioneer Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 24 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 27 Transport Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
			 29 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps  
		
	
	
		Royal Military Police
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 1 Regiment Royal Military Police  
			 3 Regiment Royal Military Police South East 
			 4 Regiment Royal Military Police  
			 5 Regiment Royal Military Police  
		
	
	
		Royal Signals
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 1 (UK) Armoured Division Signal Regiment  
			 2 Signal Regiment  
			 3 (UK) Division Signal Regiment  
			 7 Signal Regiment South West 
			 10 Signal Regiment  
			 14 Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare)  
			 16 Signal Regiment  
			 21 Signal Regiment (Air Support)  
		
	
	
		Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 1st Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers  
			 2nd Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers  
			 3rd Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers  
			 4th Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers South East 
			 5th Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers  
			 6th Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers  
			 7th Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers  
		
	
	
		Army Medical Services
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location for Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), Queen Alexandra's Royal Auxiliary Nursing Corps (QUARANC), Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) 
		
		
			 1 Close Support Medical Regiment  
			 3 Close Support Medical Regiment  
			 4 General Support Medical Regiment 
			 5 General Support Medical Regiment South East 
			 16 Close Support Medical Regiment  
			 22 Field Hospital  
			 33 Field Hospital  
			 34 Field Hospital  
		
	
	
		Intelligence Corps
		
			 Regiment/Corp RHQ Location 
		
		
			 1 Military Intelligence Battalion  
			 2 Military Intelligence Battalion East of England 
			 4 Military Intelligence Battalion

CABINET OFFICE

IT Projects

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what computerisation or IT failures have occurred in projects managed by the Cabinet Office in each year since 1997; what the contracted cost of the project was in each case; and what estimate he has made of the direct and indirect costs of failure in each case.

John Hutton: There are two cases of information technology (IT) failures in projects managed by the former Office of the e-Envoy within the Cabinet Office, since 1997.
	The first project, which was terminated in 2000, was the contract with IT supplier Compaq for provision of consultancy services and IT asset purchases, for the development of the Government Gateway. The contracted cost was £6.7 million, under an Instruction to Proceed notices which would have led to a multi year contract.
	The direct cost of termination was £5.6 million, which was payment for assets relating to work completed. There were no indirect costs for the termination. The cost of the replacement, including the £5.6 million, was within the original budget.
	The second IT failure was with the data centre and hosting management service to be provided by ITNET whose contract was terminated in 2004. The original contract value was £84 million. A total of £5 million was paid up to the point of termination of the contract.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Apprenticeships

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total spending by the Learning and Skills Council was on the promotion of apprenticeships in each of the last 10 years.

Phil Hope: The Learning and Skills Council has been responsible for promoting apprenticeships since it came into existence in April 2001. The council's chief executive Mr. Mark Haysom will write to the hon. Member with the information he requires and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House. Before April 2001 promotion of apprenticeships was the responsibility of the Department and the Training and Enterprise Councils. It is not possible to estimate the total amount spent on promotional activities in this period.

Correspondence

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department's policy is for dealing with and responding to correspondence received in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic.

Bill Rammell: My Department operates a Welsh Language Act Scheme in accordance with section 21(3) of the Welsh Language Act 1993. Under this scheme if someone writes to us in Welsh we will issue any reply in Welsh. If someone writes to us in either—Scots Gaelic or Irish Gaelic we will endeavour to issue any reply in the same language but are under no statutory obligation to do so. Our target time for replying will be the same as for replying to letters written in English.

Dentistry

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many learning and skills councils have rationalised the number of training providers for the training of dental nurses; how many no longer include practising dentists as training providers; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: My Department and the Learning and Skills Council are working together to ensure that colleges and providers deliver high quality provision which meets the needs of learners and employers. The Learning and Skills Council is responsible for the planning and funding of post-16 learning outside Higher Education. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested for the training of dental nurses. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Departmental Funding

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was allocated to the Department for each year since 1975.

Jacqui Smith: From 1975 to 1997, allocations made in the Public Expenditure Survey were reported in the Autumn Statements with detailed breakdowns in the Expenditure Plans White Papers. Since 1997, allocations made in the Spending Review rounds are reported in Spending Review White Papers.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students aged 16 to 18 years are in receipt of education maintenance allowance in each institution in (a) North East Somerset, (b) South Gloucestershire and (c) Wansdyke.

Beverley Hughes: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate education maintenance allowances for the DfES and hold the information about take-up of the scheme. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, will write to the hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.
	Letter from Rob Wye to Dan Norris dated: 25 July 2005
	I am writing on Mark Haysom's behalf due to him currently being on annual leave, in response to your recent Parliamentary Question in which you asked the Secretary of State for Education and Skills "how many students aged 16 to 18 years are in receipt of education maintenance allowance in each institution in (a) North East Somerset, (b) South Gloucestershire and (c) Wansdyke."
	Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received EMA is available at Local Education Authority level, but not at constituency level. Attached is a breakdown by school/college of 16, 17, 18 and 19 year old students who have received EMA during the academic year 2004/2005 in the Local Education Authorities of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, City of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. If a young person attended and received payment from more than one institute then they will be counted more than once in this report.
	During the Academic year 2004/2005 EMA was available to all 16 years olds across England who met the eligibility criteria and also to those 17, 18 and 19 years olds who reside in former EMA pilot areas (and meet eligibility criteria).
	Although there were no pilot areas in Gloucestershire, West of England and Somerset Local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) areas the attached data shows some 17 and 18 years olds having received EMA payments. This is because either the young person travels across area borders to attend school/college (assessment is based upon residence of young person) or they have moved residence from a non-pilot area during the academic year.
	I hope this information is helpful and addresses your question. If you would like further details please contact Chris Bradley at the LSC National Office on 0114 207 4512 or christopher. bradley@lsc.gov.uk
	
		Take-up in Gloucestershire, west of England and Somerset LLSCs
		
			 School/college LLSC LEA Age 16 Age 17 
		
		
			 Sir Thomas Rich's School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 30 0 
			 High School for Girls Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 30 0 
			 Beaufort Community School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 60 0 
			 Cleeve School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 44 0 
			 Archway School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 36 0 
			 Vale of Berkeley College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 5 0 
			 Brockworth School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 29 0 
			 Farmor's School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 23 0 
			 St. Peter's RC High School and Sixth Form Centre Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 86 0 
			 Ribston Hall High School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 37 0 
			 Marling School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 32 0 
			 Stroud High School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 42 0 
			 Pates Grammar School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 26 0 
			 The Crypt School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 25 0 
			 Tewkesbury School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 60 0 
			 Katharine Lady Berkeley's School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 35 0 
			 Rednock School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 42 0 
			 Balcarras School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 40 0 
			 Churchdown School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 31 0 
			 The Cotswold School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 37 0 
			 Newent Community School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 48 0 
			 Chosen Hill School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 32 0 
			 Central Technology College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 10 0 
			 Chipping Campden School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 42 1 
			 Wyedean School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 55 0 
			 Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 84 0 
			 Cheltenham Kingsmead Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 17 0 
			 Sir William Romneys School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 18 0 
			 The Kings School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 
			 Rendcomb College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 2 0 
			 Wycliffe College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 6 0 
			 Westonbirt School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 
			 Wynstones School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 7 0 
			 St. Edwards School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 3 0 
			 Cheltenham College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 5 0 
			 Dean Close School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 5 0 
			 The Cheltenham Ladies College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 8 0 
			 Cotswold Chine Home School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 
			 The Acorn School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 3 0 
			 St. Rose's Special School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 3 0 
			 Bettridge School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 
			 The Shrubberies School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 
			 Alderman Knight School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 
			 School of the Lion Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 
			 Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 423 0 
			 Royal Forest of Dean College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 225 0 
			 Stroud College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 104 0 
			 Cirencester Tertiary College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 239 0 
			 Hartpury College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 164 4 
			 University of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 
			 Eastbrook Education Trust Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 5 0 
			 Ruskin Mill FE College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 5 0 
			 William Morris House Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 
			 Waldorf College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 2 0 
			 National Star College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 13 2 
			 Althea House Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 2 0 
			 Frome Community College Somerset Somerset 79 0 
			 Holyrood Community School Somerset Somerset 43 0 
			 The West Somerset Community College Somerset Somerset 100 0 
			 The King Alfred School Somerset Somerset 42 0 
			 Preston School Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 The Blue School Somerset Somerset 44 0 
			 Wadham School Somerset Somerset 30 0 
			 The Kings of Wessex Community School Somerset Somerset 47 0 
			 Sexeys School Somerset Somerset 43 1 
			 Bruton School for Girls Somerset Somerset 6 0 
			 King's School Somerset Somerset 3 0 
			 Downside School Somerset Somerset 4 0 
			 Millfield School Somerset Somerset 17 0 
			 King s College Somerset Somerset 3 0 
			 Queens College Somerset Somerset 7 0 
			 Taunton School Somerset Somerset 10 0 
			 Wells Cathedral School Somerset Somerset 9 2 
			 Edington and Shapwick School Somerset Somerset 2 1 
			 Wellington School Somerset Somerset 16 0 
			 Elmwood School Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Penrose School Somerset Somerset 3 0 
			 School Somerset Somerset 3 0 
			 Fiveways Special School Somerset Somerset 1 0 
			 Bridgwater College Somerset Somerset 564 2 
			 Somerset College of Arts and Technology Somerset Somerset 310 1 
			 Yeovil College Somerset Somerset 272 0 
			 Strode College Somerset Somerset 327 0 
			 Richard Huish College, Taunton Somerset Somerset 263 1 
			 Heritor Mead Independent School Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Quantock Education Trust Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Shepton Mallet Tuition School Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Musgrove Park Hospital Education Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Orchard Lodge Educational Unit Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Yeovil Connexxions Centre Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Yeovil District Hospital Education Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Taunton Tuition Base Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Bridgwater Tuition Group Somerset Somerset 0 0 
			 Lufton Manor College Somerset Somerset 3 0 
			 Hayesfield School Technology College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 33 0 
			 Culverhay School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 17 0 
			 Norton Hill School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 40 0 
			 Writhlington School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 26 0 
			 Ralph Alien School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 22 0 
			 Chew Valley School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 34 0 
			 Somervale School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 19 0 
			 Wellsway School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 25 0 
			 Beechen Cliff School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 37 0 
			 Oldfield School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 12 0 
			 Kingswood School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 13 0 
			 Prior Park College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 5 0 
			 Royal High School, Bath West of England Bath and North East Somerset 14 1 
			 Monkton Combe School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 5 0 
			 King Edwards School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 12 0 
			 Summerfield School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 
			 Lime Grove Special School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 2 0 
			 Fosse Way School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 2 0 
			 City of Bath College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 256 1 
			 Norton Radstock College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 124 0 
			 Norland Nursery Training College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 
			 The Meriton Education and Support for Young Parents West of England City of Bristol 10 0 
			 Ashton Park Scnool West of England City of Bristol 56 O 
			 Brislington School and Sixth Form Centre West of England City of Bristol 38 0 
			 Speedwell Technology College West of England City of Bristol 15 0 
			 Cotham School West of England City of Bristol 52 0 
			 St. Mary Redcliffe and Temple School West of England City of Bristol 59 1 
			 Clifton College West of England City of Bristol 6 0 
			 Clifton High School West of England City of Bristol 5 0 
			 Colston's Collegiate School West of England City of Bristol 11 0 
			 Colstons Girls' School West of England City of Bristol 11 0 
			 Bristol Cathedral School West of England City of Bristol 10 0 
			 Bristol Grammar School West of England City of Bristol 21 0 
			 Queen Elizabeth's Hospital West of England City of Bristol 6 1 
			 The Red Maids School West of England City of Bristol 5 0 
			 Redland High School West of England City of Bristol 12 0 
			 Kingsweston School West of England City of Bristol 5 0 
			 The Florence Brown Community School West of England City of Bristol 1 0 
			 New Fosseway School West of England City of Bristol 3 0 
			 St. Brendans Sixth Form College West of England City of Bristol 224 0 
			 City of Bristol College West of England City of Bristol 819 0 
			 The City Academy Bristol West of England City of Bristol 47 0 
			 BRI03 Bridge Year 11 West of England City of Bristol 0 0 
			 Fulford Centre West of England City of Bristol 0 0 
			 Prospect Education Trust West of England City of Bristol 0 0 
			 The Park West of England City of Bristol 16 0 
			 Nailsea School West of England North Somerset 37 0 
			 Churchill Community School West of England North Somerset 50 0 
			 Worle School West of England North Somerset 1 0 
			 St Katherine's School West of England North Somerset 40 0 
			 Sidcot School West of England North Somerset 7 1 
			 Ravenswood School West of England North Somerset 1 0 
			 Bay tree School West of England North Somerset 0 0 
			 Weston College West of England North Somerset 439 1 
			 Gordano School West of England North Somerset 43 0 
			 Backwell School West of England North Somerset 49 0 
			 Clevedon Community School West of England North Somerset 32 0 
			 Kingsfield School West of England South Gloucestershire 31 0 
			 Filton High School West of England South Gloucestershire 25 0 
			 Patchway High School West of England South Gloucestershire 24 0 
			 The Castle School West of England South Gloucestershire 44 0 
			 The Ridings High School West of England South Gloucestershire 45 0 
			 King Edmund Community School West of England South Gloucestershire 20 0 
			 Sir Bernard Lovell School West of England South Gloucestershire 30 0 
			 Hanham High School West of England South Gloucestershire 31 0 
			 Brimsham Green School West of England South Gloucestershire 24 0 
			 Mangotsfield School West of England South Gloucestershire 23 0 
			 Downend Comprehensive School West of England South Gloucestershire 26 0 
			 The Grange School and Sports College West of England South Gloucestershire 20 0 
			 Chipping Sodbury School West of England South Gloucestershire 24 0 
			 Marlwood School West of England South Gloucestershire 32 0 
			 John Cabot City Technology College West of England South Gloucestershire 42 0 
			 Filton College West of England South Gloucestershire 442 1 
			 The Inspire Trust West of England South Gloucestershire 1 0 
			 Total   8,251 22 
		
	
	
		
			 School/college LLSC LEA Age 18 Age 19 Total 
		
		
			 Sir Thomas Rich's School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 30 
			 High School for Girls Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 30 
			 Beaufort Community School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 60 
			 Cleeve School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 44 
			 Archway School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 36 
			 Vale of Berkeley College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 5 
			 Brockworth School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 29 
			 Farmor's School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 23 
			 St. Peter's RC High School and Sixth Form Centre Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 87 
			 Ribston Hall High School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 37 
			 Marling School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 32 
			 Stroud High School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 42 
			 Pates Grammar School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 26 
			 The Crypt School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 25 
			 Tewkesbury School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 60 
			 Katharine Lady Berkeley's School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 35 
			 Rednock School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 42 
			 Balcarras School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 40 
			 Churchdown School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 31 
			 The Cotswold School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 37 
			 Newent Community School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 48 
			 Chosen Hill School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 32 
			 Central Technology College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 10 
			 Chipping Campden School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 43 
			 Wyedean School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 55 
			 Cheltenham Bournside School and Sixth Form Centre Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 84 
			 Cheltenham Kingsmead Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 17 
			 Sir William Romneys School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 18 
			 The Kings School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 1 
			 Rendcomb College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 2 
			 Wycliffe College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 6 
			 Westonbirt School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 1 
			 Wynstones School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 7 
			 St. Edwards School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 3 
			 Cheltenham College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 5 
			 Dean Close School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 5 
			 The Cheltenham Ladies College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 8 
			 Cotswold Chine Home School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 1 
			 The Acorn School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 3 
			 St. Rose's Special School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 3 
			 Bettridge School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 1 
			 The Shrubberies School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 1 
			 Alderman Knight School Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 1 
			 School of the Lion Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 1 
			 Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 423 
			 Royal Forest of Dean College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 225 
			 Stroud College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 104 
			 Cirencester Tertiary College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 239 
			 Hartpury College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 2 0 170 
			 University of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 1 
			 Eastbrook Education Trust Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 5 
			 Ruskin Mill FE College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 2 0 7 
			 William Morris House Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 0 
			 Waldorf College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 2 
			 National Star College Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 1 0 16 
			 Althea House Gloucestershire Gloucestershire 0 0 2 
			 Frome Community College Somerset Somerset 0 0 79 
			 Holyrood Community School Somerset Somerset 0 0 43 
			 The West Somerset Community College Somerset Somerset 0 0 100 
			 The King Alfred School Somerset Somerset 0 0 42 
			 Preston School Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 The Blue School Somerset Somerset 0 0 44 
			 Wadham School Somerset Somerset 0 0 30 
			 The Kings of Wessex Community School Somerset Somerset 0 0 47 
			 Sexeys School Somerset Somerset 0 0 44 
			 Bruton School for Girls Somerset Somerset 0 0 6 
			 King's School Somerset Somerset 0 0 3 
			 Downside School Somerset Somerset 0 0 4 
			 Millfield School Somerset Somerset 0 0 17 
			 King s College Somerset Somerset 0 0 3 
			 Queens College Somerset Somerset 0 0 7 
			 Taunton School Somerset Somerset 0 0 10 
			 Wells Cathedral School Somerset Somerset 0 0 11 
			 Edington and Shapwick School Somerset Somerset 0 0 3 
			 Wellington School Somerset Somerset 0 0 16 
			 Elmwood School Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Penrose School Somerset Somerset 0 0 3 
			 School Somerset Somerset 0 0 3 
			 Fiveways Special School Somerset Somerset 0 0 1 
			 Bridgwater College Somerset Somerset 0 0 566 
			 Somerset College of Arts and Technology Somerset Somerset 0 0 311 
			 Yeovil College Somerset Somerset 0 0 272 
			 Strode College Somerset Somerset 0 0 327 
			 Richard Huish College, Taunton Somerset Somerset 0 0 264 
			 Periton Mead Independent School Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Quantock Education Trust Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Shepton Mallet Tuition School Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Musgrove Park Hospital Education Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Orchard Lodge Educational Unit Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Yeovil Connexxions Centre Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Yeovil District Hospital Education Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Taunton Tuition Base Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Bridgwater Tuition Group Somerset Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Lufton Manor College Somerset Somerset 0 0 3 
			 Hayesfield School Technology College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 33 
			 Culverhay School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 17 
			 Norton Hill School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 40 
			 Writhlington School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 26 
			 Ralph Alien School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 22 
			 Chew Valley School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 34 
			 Somervale School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 19 
			 Wellsway School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 25 
			 Beechen Cliff School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 37 
			 Oldfield School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 12 
			 Kingswood School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 13 
			 Prior Park College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 5 
			 Royal High School, Bath West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 15 
			 Monkton Combe School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 5 
			 King Edwards School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 12 
			 Summerfield School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Lime Grove Special School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 2 
			 Fosse Way School West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 2 
			 City of Bath College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 257 
			 Norton Radstock College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 0 0 124 
			 Norland Nursery Training College West of England Bath and North East Somerset 1 0 1 
			 The Meriton Education and Support for Young Parents West of England City of Bristol 0 0 10 
			 Ashton Park School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 56 
			 Brislington School and Sixth Form Centre West of England City of Bristol 0 0 38 
			 Speedwell Technology College West of England City of Bristol 0 0 15 
			 Cotham School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 52 
			 St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 60 
			 Clifton College West of England City of Bristol 0 0 6 
			 Clifton High School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 5 
			 Colston's Collegiate School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 11 
			 Colstons Girls' School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 11 
			 Bristol Cathedral School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 10 
			 Bristol Grammar School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 21 
			 Queen Elizabeth's Hospital West of England City of Bristol 0 0 7 
			 The Red Maids School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 5 
			 Redland High School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 12 
			 Kingsweston School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 5 
			 The Florence Brown Community School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 1 
			 New Fosseway School West of England City of Bristol 0 0 3 
			 St. Brendans Sixth Form College West of England City of Bristol 0 0 224 
			 City of Bristol College West of England City of Bristol 1 0 820 
			 The City Academy Bristol West of England City of Bristol 0 0 47 
			 BRI03 Bridge Year 11 West of England City of Bristol 0 0 0 
			 Fulford Centre West of England City of Bristol 0 0 0 
			 Prospect Education "rust West of England City of Bristol 0 0 0 
			 The Park West of England City of Bristol 0 0 16 
			 Nailsea School West of England North Somerset 0 0 37 
			 Churchill Community School West of England North Somerset 0 0 50 
			 Worle School West of England North Somerset 0 0 1 
			 St. Katherine's School West of England North Somerset 0 0 40 
			 Sidcot School West of England North Somerset 0 0 8 
			 Ravenswood School West of England North Somerset 0 0 1 
			 Bay tree School West of England North Somerset 0 0 0 
			 Weston College West of England North Somerset 0 0 440 
			 Gordano School West of England North Somerset 0 0 43 
			 Backwell School West of England North Somerset 0 0 49 
			 Clevedon Community School West of England North Somerset 0 0 32 
			 Kingsfield School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 31 
			 Filton High School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 25 
			 Patchway High School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 24 
			 The Castle School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 44 
			 The Ridings High School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 45 
			 King Edmund Community School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 20 
			 Sir Bernard Lovell School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 30 
			 Hanham High School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 31 
			 Brimsham Green School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 24 
			 Mangotsfield School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 23 
			 Downend Comprehensive School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 26 
			 The Grange School and Sports College West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 20 
			 Chipping Sodbury School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 24 
			 Marlwood School West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 32 
			 John Cabot City Technology College West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 42 
			 Filton College West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 443 
			 The Inspire Trust West of England South Gloucestershire 0 0 1 
			 Total   8 0 8,282

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the cost of educational maintenance allowances has been in each year since their introduction.

Beverley Hughes: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Hertfordshire Schools

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to increase the level of funding for (a) 19 years plus students and (b) students with disabilities in East Hertfordshire.

Bill Rammell: Funding for further education, including adult learners and those with disabilities, is increasing and will rise by over £1 billion in 2005–06 compared to 2002–03—a 25 per cent. cash increase in three years. Funding increases for individual colleges will depend on a number of factors including the extent to which college activities align with our key priorities. As the allocation of funding in local areas relates to the LSC's operational responsibilities I have asked the LSC's chief executive, Mark Haysom, to write to the hon. Member with the information requested. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Hertfordshire Schools

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the change in numbers of places for (a) construction, (b) engineering and (c) catering courses offered by Hertford Regional College in 2005–06.

Bill Rammell: The Government have been clear about its priorities for education. Changes in the numbers of places available for individual courses in particular colleges will depend on a number of factors, including Government priorities. As decisions about the mix of provision to be funded in local areas relates to the LSC's operational responsibilities, I have asked the LSC's chief executive, Mark Haysom, to write to the hon. Member with the information requested. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

IT Projects

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what computerisation or IT failures have occurred in public sector projects managed by her Department in each year since 1997; what the contracted cost of the project was in each case; and what estimate she has made of the direct and indirect costs of failure or breakdown in each case.

Bill Rammell: I can confirm that no computerisation or IT failures have occurred in public sector projects managed by the Department for Education and Skills in the years since 1997.

School Closures

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many village schools have closed since January 2000.

Jacqui Smith: Rural village schools play an important part in maintaining the viability of the countryside. That is why we introduced a presumption against the closure of rural schools in 1998. The presumption does not mean that no rural school should ever close, but the case for closure should be strong and the proposals clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area.
	The number of rural schools approved for closure since 2000 is shown as follows.
	
		Rural schools approved for closure since 2000
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000 2 
			 2001 3 
			 2002 5 
			 2003 12 
			 2004 9 
			 2005 4 
		
	
	In 2003 we introduced a broader definition for rural areas which increased the proportion of schools in England classified as rural.

Social Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate (a) Skills for Care and (b) the Children, Young People and Families Workforce Development Council has made of the number of (i) domiciliary care workers, (ii) outreach workers, (iii) residential child workers, (iv) social care managers and (v) staff responsible for recruitment and supervision of social care staff who would be covered by future requirements for registration with the General Social Care Council.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 11 July 2005, Official Report, columns 725–26W.

Telephone Inquiries

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what facilities her Department has to deal with telephone inquiries in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic.

Bill Rammell: My Department operates a Welsh Language Act Scheme in accordance with section 21(3) of the Welsh Language Act 1993. Where a telephone helpline forms part of a campaign that is applicable to a Welsh speaking audience, a Welsh language service is offered. We have no facilities to deal with telephone inquiries in Scots Gaelic or Irish Gaelic.

Work Experience

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many 14 to 16-year-olds undertook work experience in (a) the public sector, (b) a small or medium sized enterprise, (c) a large enterprise and (d) a trade union in each year between 2000 and 2004.

Jacqui Smith: There is a 95 per cent. take up of work experience among Key Stage 4 pupils. However, the breakdown of numbers participating is the responsibility of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Mark Haysom, chief executive of the LSC, will write to my hon. Friend, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Expenditure

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in the (i) Moray constituency and (ii) Highland Region was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office occupies premises in Edinburgh and London, with a very small presence in Glasgow and does not incur any direct expenditure outwith these areas. Information on regional distribution of staff at 1 April 2004 is available in the libraries of both Houses, and also at: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/statistical_information/statistics/contents_for_civil_service_statistics_2004_ report/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution. Figures relating to 1 April 2005 will be published next year.

Departmental Expenditure

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in (i) Dundee, East constituency, (ii) Tayside and (iii) the City of Dundee was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in (i) Banff and Buchan and (ii) the North East of Scotland was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in Perth and North Perthshire was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson).

Equality and Diversity

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much the Department has spent promoting equality and diversity in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

David Cairns: Staff of the Scotland Office are on loan from the Department for Constitutional Affairs or the Scottish Executive; both Departments continue to provide a full programme of training and development opportunities for such staff. Initiatives specific to equality and diversity include running diversity and equality events, supporting internal staff networks and providing support on corporate diversity programmes. To underpin this, diversity training is mandatory for all Scotland Office staff. Separate figures on costs are, however, not available.

Opinion Surveys

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the (a) subject matter and (b) dates were of opinion survey research undertaken by the Department in the last 12 months; if he will place copies of the results of each survey in the library; which companies were used in conducting the research; and how much each was paid.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office has not undertaken any opinion surveys in the last 12 months.

Proceeds of Crime

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much (a) money and (b) property has been seized in Paisley and Renfrewshire, North as a consequence of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

David Cairns: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Midlothian (Mr. Hamilton) on 7 July 2005, Official Report, column 591W. As I indicated, this is a devolved matter and the information requested is not broken down by constituency or local authority area. Neither is it available in terms of money or property seized except in relation to the particular individuals involved.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many letters to his Department from hon. Members in session (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are (i) one month old, (ii) two months old, (iii) three months old, (iv) four months old and (v) over six months old.

Jim Fitzpatrick: As at 31 August, there are no unanswered letters from hon. Members for the 2004–05 session. For the current session 52 letters remain unanswered that are more than one month old, of which three letters are more than two months old.
	The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2004 was published on 6 April 2005, Official Report, columns 137–40WS.

Council Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2005, Official Report, column 298W, on council tax, whether he has a personal council tax liability on his official residences at (a) Admiralty House and (b) Dorneywood.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister does not have a personal council tax liability on his official residence at Admiralty House. In line with established Cabinet Office policy on official residences, council tax liability in respect of my right hon. Friend's residence at Admiralty House is paid by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	In relation to Dorneywood I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 5 July 2005, Official Report, column 298W.

Empty/Second Homes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the Valuation Office Agency's most recent estimate is of the number of (a) empty homes and (b) second homes in England.

Yvette Cooper: The number of empty homes and second homes in England, as reported by local authorities on the CTB(1) and CTB(1)S forms submitted to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for 2005–06, are 714,000 and 229,000 respectively. No data on second homes were received from Hart or Wandsworth; the total for second homes excludes estimates for these authorities.

Fire Services

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the net cost to each fire authority of the proposed regionalisation of fire control centres; and what methodology will be used for precepting.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recognises that there may some net additional costs to FRAs during the transition from the existing to the new arrangements and is committed to the new burdens principles whereby it will meet net additional costs to FRAs arising from the project. From the point when the last centre goes live, the new control centres are expected to achieve, on average, a steady state saving of some 30 per cent. over existing arrangements, which will result in net savings to each fire and rescue authority. However, figures are not yet available for each authority, as the FiReControl business case only exists at national level. We are working closely with fire and rescue authorities through the FiReControl Finance Working Group to give them the information they need for budgeting at local level.

Key Worker Living Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria are used to determine allocation of funding for the key worker living initiative (a) to individual housing associations and (b) to geographical areas; and how the requirement for key worker housing in an area is assessed.

Yvette Cooper: The programme operates in London, the east and south east of England. Housing associations in these regions were invited to bid for funds in autumn 2003 as part of the Approved Development Programme competitive process. The Housing Corporation assessed bids using criteria of association capacity, deliverability, value for money and quality of schemes.
	Funding has been allocated to schemes offering best value, rather than being ring- fenced to specific areas.
	Evaluation of key worker housing need at a local level generally has included consultation with relevant employers and analysis of available labour and housing market data.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Manufacturing

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many manufacturing jobs were lost in each county in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Peter Bone, dated 22 September 2005
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of manufacturing jobs lost in each county in each year since 1997. (14761)
	While statistics of jobs lost are not available, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes in numbers of jobs from year to year.
	I am placing in the House of Commons Library a table giving information for each year from 1997 to 2003, the latest year for which information is available.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Correspondence

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her Department's policy is for dealing with and responding to correspondence received in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic.

Bridget Prentice: Under the Department for Constitutional Affairs' draft Welsh Language Scheme we aim to respond in Welsh to any correspondence sent to us in Welsh within the same timescale as other correspondence.
	In recognition of its operational role and its delivery of services direct to the public in Wales, Her Majesty's Court Service, an executive agency of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, has its own Welsh Language Scheme. A public consultation on the Scheme finished at the end of June and it has now been approved by the Welsh Language Board and came into effect on 19 July 2005. The text of the Scheme can be found at: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/3437.htm The aim as set out in the Scheme is to respond in Welsh to correspondence sent in Welsh within the same timescale as other correspondence.
	There are no similar Schemes in place for dealing with and responding to correspondence received in Scots Gaelic or Irish Gaelic.

Disciplinary Matters

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, if she will place in the Library the reports provided by the Coroner of Teesside to the Lord Chancellor on his performance since his severe reprimand.

Harriet Harman: The reports referred to by my hon. and learned Friend have been provided by the Coroner for Teesside to the Lord Chancellor on a confidential basis as part of an ongoing disciplinary matter, and it is not appropriate for them to be made available in the way requested. The annual coronial statistics for 2004 will shortly be published. I will send a copy to my hon. Friend as soon as they are available.

Electoral Administration Bill

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects her Department to complete its work on the Electoral Administration Bill in advance of its publication; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The Electoral Administration Bill will be introduced to Parliament as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Judges (Sexual Offences Training)

Vera Baird: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what steps are taken to ensure that in any rape appeal there will be at least one judge who has been on the serious sexual offences seminar.

Harriet Harman: Judicial training is the responsibility of the Lord Chief Justice and is exercised through the Judicial Studies Board (JSB).
	Judges of every rank who sit in crime, including the Court of Appeal, have received training on the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 as part of a programme of training on the Criminal Justice Reforms that ran between January and March 2005. This was supplemented with written material provided at the time the Act came into force.
	The serious sexual offences seminar is specifically designed for judges who hear rape trials. For details of the serious sexual offences seminar I refer my hon. and learned Friend to the answer I gave on 30 June 2005, Official Report, column 1745W.

Parliamentary Questions

David Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2005, Official Report, column 826W, what estimate she has made of the cost of answering the question.

Bridget Prentice: The costs of answering the question would have been over the disproportionate costs threshold of £600.

Telephone Inquiries

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what facilities her Department has to deal with telephone inquiries in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic.

Bridget Prentice: It is not practicable to offer a Welsh language telephone service. Under the Department's draft Welsh Language Scheme those who call and wish to speak in Welsh will be given the option of writing in Welsh and receiving an answer in the same language or continuing the conversation in English.
	In recognition of its operational role and its delivery of services direct to the public in Wales, Her Majesty's Court Service, an executive agency of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, also has a Welsh Language Scheme. A public consultation on the Scheme finished at the end of June and it has now been approved by the Welsh Language Board and came into effect on 19 July 2005. The Scheme can be found at: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/3437.htm Under the terms of the Scheme, Her Majesty's Court Service will provide a Welsh telephone service to its users. This can be accessed direct by phoning any of the Service's offices in Wales or if phoning one of its offices in England the call may be transferred to the Service's Welsh Language Unit.
	Neither the Department nor Her Majesty's Court Service has any facilities for dealing with telephone inquiries in Scots Gaelic or Irish Gaelic.

Wales (Government)

Peter Law: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how she intends to implement Paragraph 3.12 of the White Paper, "Better governance for Wales" (Cm 6582), in respect of any Bill she introduces in the current session of Parliament.

Harriet Harman: I intend to implement the Government's policy as stated in paragraph 3.12 of the White Paper "Better governance for Wales" Cm 6582. My Department is in discussion with the Assembly Government on the issues concerned.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Fraud

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland had legal action taken against them for benefit fraud in 2004.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the table.
	
		Benefit fraud—legal actions by DWP and local authorities in 2003–04 and 2004–05
		
			  UK Scotland 
		
		
			 2003–04 37,550 1,682 
			 2004–05 42,465 2,309 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. 'Legal action' is interpreted to include cautions and administrative penalties as well as prosecutions.
	2. Cautions could only be issued by DWP in Scotland from January 2004.
	3. For DWP, figures refer to total prosecutions undertaken specifically by the Counter Fraud Investigation Service.
	4. Due to cross-border operations National Investigation Services (NIS) prosecutions cannot be broken down into the geographical area requested. Therefore the UK figures include NIS figures and the Scotland figures do not.
	Sources:
	1. Fraud Information by Sector.
	2. Northern Ireland Social Security Agency.
	3. Local authority subsidy returns.

Child Support Agency

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition the Child Support Agency uses of the term sensitive case; how many cases the Sensitive Case Team has dealt with in each year since its establishment; how many times unauthorised access to sensitive cases has been detected; and how many checks have been made on sensitive cases.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty to Mr. David Laws, dated 14 July 2005
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what definition the Child Support Agency uses of the term sensitive case; how many cases the Sensitive Case Team has dealt with in each year since its establishment; how many times unauthorised access to sensitive cases has been detected; and how many checks have been made on sensitive cases.
	Within the Child Support Agency all Nationally Sensitive cases are dealt with by a team located in Falkirk. Sensitive cases are those cases that require special handling in order to restrict access to information and to protect the account from unauthorised amendments. Sensitive cases cover a wide range of circumstances including partners at risk of violence, people on witness protection, transsexuals and VIPs.
	A yearly breakdown of the number of Nationally Sensitive cases is unavailable. However, there are currently 410 live cases, of which 238 are on the old scheme and 172 on the new scheme.
	Since the inception of the Nationally Sensitive Case team within the Child Support Agency there have been no instances of unauthorised access to these cases detected. Information is not available as to how many checks have been carried out on Nationally Sensitive cases. However, they are all subject to 100 per cent. checking which means that every time the case is actioned it is checked to ensure the Nationally Sensitive marking is still relevant.
	I hope you find this information of use.

Correspondence

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is for dealing with and responding to correspondence received in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic;
	(2)  what facilities his Department has to deal with telephone inquiries in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic.

James Plaskitt: For customers in Wales, DWP has a Welsh Language Scheme, which includes a full service for communicating in Welsh. Correspondence will be in Welsh if the customer prefers, and staff will speak to customers in Welsh if they prefer. Corporate publicity material in Wales is provided in both English and Welsh. This service is provided in compliance with the Welsh Language Act.
	For Scots Gaelic speakers, if the person cannot converse in English, we would use the departmental telephone interpreting service, provided by Language Line, who can provide interpreters. Written Gaelic queries are extremely rare, but we could obtain translation from, and into, Gaelic, if the need arose. The same principle would apply to any contacts from Irish Gaelic speakers, but as responsibility for most social security, child support and pensions matters rests with the Northern Ireland Department for Social Development, this would be most unlikely to happen in practice.

Departmental Expenditure

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in (i) Dundee East constituency, (ii) Tayside and (iii) the City of Dundee was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in (i) Banff and Buchan and (ii) the North East of Scotland was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in the (i) Moray constituency and (ii) Highland Region was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in Perth and North Perthshire was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement has been in (i) Angus constituency and (ii) Tayside for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: Information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on regional distribution of staff at 1 April 2004 is available in the Library of both Houses, and also at, http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_ information/statistical_information/statistics/contents_ for_civil_service_statistics_2004_ report/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution.
	Figures relating to 2005 will be published next year.

Energy Efficiency

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets he has for improving energy efficiency; and what steps his Department is taking to achieve these targets.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions has a number of targets in line with the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. The steps taken to achieve these targets include raising staff awareness through the use of the intranet, staff magazine and poster campaigns; sharing best practice through the use of the Sustainable Development Network Group and by incorporating energy efficient spend to save measures across the Departments estate.
	The progress against these targets is reported annually in the Sustainable Development Annual report, which has been published since 2001 and will be available in December 2005.

Energy Efficiency

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of electricity used by buildings in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies came from renewable sources in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in 2001. The proportion of renewable energy used by the Department and its agencies is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 2001–02 25 
			 2002–03 21.4 
			 2003–04 46 
		
	
	Figures for 2004–05 are not yet available.

Expert Medical Witnesses

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what audit his Department makes of the qualifications of expert medical witnesses in medical appeal tribunals;
	(2)  if he will issue guidelines relating to evidence given by expert medical witnesses where an individual's capacity to work is tested in a tribunal.

Anne McGuire: Expert medical witnesses are appointed as members of the Appeals Service panel by the Lord Chancellor. Their training is a matter for the President of appeal tribunals.

Housing Benefit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average processing times for housing benefit claims are in each (a) London borough, (b) local housing authority in the north east and (c) Pathfinder area, broken down by tenure sector.

Stephen Timms: pursuant to the reply, 11 July 2005, Official Report, c. 679W
	The information is in the tables.
	
		Average housing benefit clearance times (calendar days) in London boroughs; fourth quarter 2004–05
		
			 Authority All housing benefit Rent rebate Rent allowance 
		
		
			 Barking 70.02 63.1 82.17 
			 Barnet 35.47 31.24 37.01 
			 Bexley 44.71 34.76 46.14 
			 Brent 37.35 32.24 38.93 
			 Bromley 29.62 (2)— 29.62 
			 Camden 34.79 30.69 37.99 
			 City of London 25.51 23.7 28.64 
			 Croydon 32.85 17.52 43.52 
			 Ealing 61.2 59.91 61.86 
			 Enfield 39.08 32.91 41.83 
			 Greenwich 35.22 31.29 39.39 
			 Hackney 78.53 70.52 84.71 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Haringey 50.34 38.07 57.31 
			 Harrow 27.3 22.11 28.83 
			 Havering 32.55 29.54 35.64 
			 Hillingdon 52.37 44.46 56.31 
			 Hounslow 40.74 33.53 45.83 
			 Islington 49.37 54.29 43.88 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 30.01 30.01 30.01 
			 Kingston upon Thames 61.16 63.46 59.65 
			 Lambeth 47.11 42.75 51.27 
			 Lewisham 32.37 31.21 33.22 
			 Merton 52.38 46.74 54.6 
			 Newham 47.24 47.43 47.17 
			 Redbridge 36.16 29.39 38.73 
			 Richmond upon Thames 49.72 39.85 50.88 
			 Southwark 39.13 39.13 39.13 
			 Sutton 42.07 30.51 47.52 
			 Tower Hamlets 61.63 62 61.35 
			 Waltham Forest 36.2 31.17 37.71 
			 Wandsworth 52.25 44.43 56.66 
			 Westminster (2)— (2)— (2)— 
		
	
	
		Average housing benefit clearance times (calendar days) in local authorities in the north-east GOR; fourth quarter 2004–05
		
			 Authority All housing benefit Rent rebate Rent allowance 
		
		
			 Alnwick 35.93 25.24 44.07 
			 Berwick upon Tweed 31.82 23.16 39.81 
			 Blyth Valley 24 22.51 25.88 
			 Castle Morpeth 23.68 19.52 26.94 
			 Chester le Street 29.27 25.74 34.21 
			 Darlington 31.88 25.41 34.81 
			 Derwentside 28.39 25.66 30.83 
			 Durham 29.17 25.13 34.66 
			 Easington 36.01 35.86 36.16 
			 Gateshead 66.8 66.8 66.8 
			 Hartlepool 28.96 18.25 29.07 
			 Middlesbrough 36.6 83.73 35.18 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 65.24 75.5 52.43 
			 North Tyneside 47.83 47.85 47.8 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 39.05 32.58 39.28 
			 Sedgefield 31.91 29.34 35.96 
			 South Tyneside 42.64 42.23 43.41 
			 Stockton on Tees 39.4 34.3 44.81 
			 Sunderland (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 Teesdale 46.94 52.45 44.43 
			 Tynedale 21.28 (2)— 21.28 
			 Wansbeck 42.36 40.33 44.94 
			 Wear Valley 21.41 17.87 24.26 
		
	
	
		Average housing benefit clearance times (calendar days) in first wave local housing allowance pathfinder local authorities; fourth quarter 2004–05
		
			 Authority All housing benefit Rent rebate Rent allowance 
		
		
			 Blackpool 18.48 13.18 19.45 
			 Brighton and Hove 31.84 28.24 33.41 
			 Edinburgh 43.79 33.32 55.14 
			 Conwy 32.01 29.88 32.68 
			 Coventry 53.61 (2)— 53.61 
			 Leeds 64.2 63.2 65.28 
			 Lewisham 32.37 31.21 33.22 
			 North East Lincoln 36 35.35 36.24 
			 Teignbridge 30.39 21.54 30.61 
		
	
	
		Average housing benefit clearance times (calendar days) in second wave local housing allowance local authorities; fourth quarter 2004–05
		
			 Authority All housing benefit Rent rebate Rent allowance 
		
		
			 Argyll and Bute 35.51 30.87 39.31 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 29.46 22.1 33.78 
			 Guildford 21.01 23.26 19.83 
			 Norwich 17.71 15.78 19.83 
			 Pembrokeshire 43.08 36.96 47.94 
			 Salford (2)— (2)— (2)— 
			 South Norfolk 31.2 15.45 32.62 
			 St. Helens 34.21 (2)— 34.21 
			 Wandsworth 52.25 44.43 56.66 
		
	
	(2) Means not provided by the local authority. In the case of rent rebate figures only not being available, this may be because the local authority has no rent rebate cases.
	Notes:
	1. Rent rebates are made on local authority properties.
	2. Rent allowance is paid on all private rented accommodation, including registered social landlords.
	3. Lewisham and Wandsworth both appear twice; they are London boroughs and local housing allowance pathfinders.
	4. The second wave of local housing allowance local authorities went live between April and July 2005.
	Source:
	Local authority reported data.

Housing Benefit

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) average number of days to process new housing benefit claims and (b) percentage of new housing benefit claims determined within 14 days was in each local authority in Scotland in each of the last 16 quarters for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Housing Benefit

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of housing benefit in council housing transferred to housing associations in each of the last two years.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.

Industrial Injuries (Hearing Loss)

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many claims for industrial injuries disablement benefit have been made on the basis of hearing loss in each year since 1995; and how many were successful;
	(2)  what percentage of (a) claims for industrial injuries disablement benefit (IIDB) and (b) IIDB claims awarded were for hearing loss in each year since 1995.

Margaret Hodge: The available information is in the tables.
	
		Claims to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit(3)
		
			  All prescribed diseases Occupational deafness 
			  Number Number Percentage of total claims 
		
		
			 1995 (5)21,900 (5)4.900 22.1 
			 1996 44,200 6,800 15.3 
			 1997 60,600 5,800 9.6 
			 1998 45,600 4,300 9.4 
			 1999 41,300 4,100 9.9 
			 2000 48,700 4,300 8.8 
			 2001 39,000 3,900 10.0 
			 2002 41,050 3,430 8.4 
			 2003 37,435 3,200 8.5 
			 2004 (6)28,255 (6)2,705 9.6 
		
	
	
		Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit assessments where the level of disablement was above the threshold for receiving Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit(4)
		
			  All prescribed diseases(9) Occupational deafness(10) 
			  Number Number Percentage of total assessments 
		
		
			 1995 (5)2,835 (5)585 20.6 
			 1996 3,770 530 14.1 
			 1997 5,950 415 7.0 
			 1998 6,255 260 4.2 
			 1999 4,265 315 7.4 
			 2000 3,205 225 7.0 
			 2001 3,410 265 7.8 
			 2002 4,470 265 5.9 
			 2003 4,790 335 7.0 
			 2004 (6)5,035 325 6.5 
		
	
	(3) Claims are based on a 10 per cent. sample up to 31 March 2002 and on a 100 per cent. count thereafter.
	(4) Assessments are based on 100 per cent. count and rounded to the nearest 5 to ensure anonymity.
	(5) Figures are for 9 months only.
	(6) Figures for 2004 are provisional.
	(7) The number of assessments may not relate to claims during the same period.
	(8) Figures relate to Industrial Disease as data on assessments for accidents was not collected prior to April 2002.
	(9) The figures for assessments for all prescribed diseases do not include cases where the level of disablement is below the threshold for receiving Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
	(10) The figures for assessments for occupational deafness show all cases where there is a level of disablement assessed as, due to the nature of the scheme, all assessments for occupational deafness have to be at least 20 per cent. and therefore above the threshold for receiving Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate.

Industrial Injuries (Hearing Loss)

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the evidential basis was for setting (a) the lower threshold for hearing loss caused by noise at work at 50db when assessing claims and (b) a three-year time limit for hearing loss industrial injuries disablement benefit.

Margaret Hodge: The 50db threshold for benefit payment was set following the advice of experts in audio logy and the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council who determined that this level of loss equated to 20 per cent. disablement in the Industrial Injuries Scheme.
	The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council advised that noise-induced hearing loss is only slowly progressive. Thus a person whose claim for disablement benefit has been disallowed is unlikely to suffer deterioration in their hearing loss due to noise to the degree that they fulfil the criteria for diagnosing occupational deafness (prescribed disease (PD) A10) in less than three years.
	A claim cannot be made less than three years after the previous disallowance of a claim. This is because the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council advised that noise-induced deafness is only slowly progressive. A person who fails to fulfil the diagnostic criterion of a 50dB loss is unlikely to suffer deterioration in their hearing loss due to noise to the degree that they fulfil the criteria in less than three years.

Jobcentre Plus Vacancies

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) inflows and (b) outflows of Jobcentre Plus vacancies were in each quarter since June 2004 in each area of the north-east region.

Stephen Timms: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 13 September 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what the inflows and outflows of Jobcentre Plus vacancies were in each area of the North East region in each quarter since June 2004. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The available information is in the table.
	
		Inflows and outflows of Jobcentre Plus vacancies in the north-east region
		
			  City of Sunderland Durham County Gateshead and South Tyneside Northumbria Tees Valley 
		
		
			 June 2004  
			 Vacancies notified(11) 2,562 4,006 2,967 6,667 5,198 
			 Jobs notified(12) 5,556 8,345 6,984 12,978 10,290 
			 Total jobs filled(13) 1,698 2,695 2,092 3,678 2,831 
			   
			 September 2004  
			 Vacancies notified(11) 2,689 4,424 3,477 7,539 5,878 
			 Jobs notified(12) 6,904 8,818 9,427 15,096 12,268 
			 Jobs filled(13) 1,728 2,673 2,266 3,980 3,259 
			   
			 December 2004  
			 Vacancies notified(11) 1,754 3,103 2,039 5,132 4,194 
			 Jobs notified(12) 3,988 6,602 5,251 11,354 9,247 
			 Jobs filled(13) 1,881 2,527 3,368 3,953 3,654 
			 March 2005  
			 Vacancies notified(11) 1,921 3,602 2,419 6,080 4,729 
			 Jobs notified(12) 4,361 7,053 5,005 12,415 8,864 
			 Jobs filled(13) 1,379 2,313 1,938 3,468 1,519 
			   
			 June 2005  
			 Vacancies notified(11) 1,789 3,133 2,210 5,751 4,569 
			 Jobs notified(12) 3,922 6,041 4,543 11,477 8,439 
			 Jobs filled(13) 1,142 1,905 1,560 2,768 1,267 
		
	
	(11) Represents in-flow of vacancies.
	(12) Represents total number of jobs notified.
	(13) Represents out-flow of vacancies.
	Note:
	The disparity between the number of jobs notified and the number filled results from: employers filling jobs through other sources; employers withdrawing vacancies; insufficient evidence to demonstrate that a vacancy has been filled by a Jobcentre Plus applicant.
	Source:
	Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System
	We are committed to enhancing and improving our vacancy services, and have created an e-services portfolio for employers. This enables them to advertise and manage their own vacancies, and has resulted in an increasing number of our customers applying directly to employers. These vacancies appear on our Labour Market System and are included in the figures above.
	We are also developing improved partnerships with private recruitment agencies to increase the range and number of job opportunities available to our customers. This has resulted in the introduction of a 'Jobs Warehouse' which is accessible through internet services. These vacancies do not appear on the Labour Market System and consequently are not included in the figures above.
	I hope this is helpful.

New Deal

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the cost per additional job created by the new deal programmes; and what assumptions are made in making that calculation.

Margaret Hodge: The new deal is not a job creation scheme. It is designed to help unemployed and disadvantaged people into work or training. It has already been successful in helping more than 1.3 million people into employment.
	Research has been conducted on the macro-economic effect of new deal for young people (NDYP) and new deal for lone parents (NDLP). Information is not available on new deal 25 Plus, new deal for disabled or new deal for partners.
	A national audit office report 1 suggested that the average annual cost per additional person of any age in employment through new deal for young people is within the range of £5,000-£8,000.
	The National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) undertook a detailed macro-economic analysis of NDYP until March 2002 2 . NIESR calculated the net budgetary cost per job was £7,000 per annum (excluding the environmental task force and voluntary sector options) or £4,000 per annum when these two options are included.
	NIESR calculated that by March 2000, NDYP had reduced unemployment among all age groups by 35,000. They also estimated that NDYP raised youth employment by 15,000 (excluding those on the environmental task force and voluntary sector options). Adding these two options raised this to 30,000 more young people in work due to NDYP.
	Evidence on the cost effectiveness of new deal for lone parents (NDLP) comes from the cost benefit analysis of NDLP carried out by departmental economists. The findings were published in the NDLP evaluation synthesis report in June 2003 3 .
	The unit costs of NDLP in 2000–01 were £400 per participant. The gross cost per job was around £860 and the cost per additional job was £1,560.
	A calculation of cost effectiveness takes into account the additional earnings from movements into work and the costs of running the programme in 2000–01. NDLP provided a significant net economic gain to society, with a net benefit of over £4,400 from each additional job, and a total net gain of £115 million.
	The net impact on public finance was also calculated. This included the cost of in-work credits and benefits such as the working families' tax credit. NDLP in 2001–02 resulted in a net exchequer saving of £1,600 for each additional job entry; a total saving of £41.5 million.
	The assumptions made in the above calculations can be found in the listed reports, which are available in the Library.
	1 New deal for young people, national audit office, February 2002.
	2 New deal for young people: Implications for employment and the public finances, NIESR, December 2000 (Ref: ESR 62).
	3 Evaluation of the new deal for lone parents: Second synthesis report of the national evaluation, research report 163, June 2003.

New Deal

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people from the Great Grimsby constituency have been on the new deal in each year since its introduction; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The available information on individual starts is in the table.
	
		
			 Period Individual starts 
		
		
			 January 1998-March 1998 10 
			 April to March:  
			 1998–999 810 
			 1999–2000 550 
			 2000–01 630 
			 2001–02 950 
			 2002–03 1,090 
			 2003–04 1,100 
			 2004–05 1,320 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information relates to individuals starting new deal for young people, new deal 25 plus and new deal for lone parents. Information on individuals starting other new deal programmes is not available at constituency level.
	2. Figures may include individuals who have started more than one of the new deal programmes. In this situation, they would be included in the figures more than once.
	3. If an individual has started a particular new deal programme more than once, they will only be included once in the figures.
	4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate

Pension Credit

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pension credit guarantee element recipients in each region were previously in receipt of the minimum income guarantee.

Stephen Timms: The information is given in the following table.
	
		Guarantee credit households by Government office region,March 2005
		
			 Government office region Guarantee credit households Proportion who were converted from minimum income guarantee (percentage) 
		
		
			 Scotland 220,290 72.17 
			 Wales 127,620 69.26 
			 North East 119,610 73.61 
			 North West 284,470 72.98 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 198,475 72.08 
			 East Midlands 147,605 69.66 
			 West Midlands 219,365 72.45 
			 East of England 168,995 68.00 
			 London 245,215 75.25 
			 South East 211,945 67.60 
			 South West 172,155 68.31 
			
			 Great Britain total 2,115,745 71.28 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest five.
	2. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	3. Guarantee credit households include those who were receiving guarantee credit only and those who were receiving both guarantee credit and savings credit.
	4. Pension credit replaced minimum income guarantee (MIG) on 6 October 2003.
	5. Data from the generalised matching service 100 per cent. scans taken on 18 March 2005. All figures have been rated up to give month-end estimates.
	6. Those converted from MIG are those who were MIG recipients as at 3 October 2003 and are in receipt of pension credit on 18 March 2005.
	Source:
	Information Directorate 100 per cent. sample.

Timber

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department's procurement policy includes timber used on and in the construction of departmental building projects; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Timber specification is included in the Department for Work and Pension's procurement policy. In September 2003 the Department issued a procurement policy guidance note, which specifically refers to the purchase of sustainably produced timber.
	In addition the Department is working with its Estates partner—Land Securities Trillium—to ensure timber used in the construction of departmental building projects comes from sustainably managed sources.
	All timber supplies being used within the Department are independently audited.

Sickness Absence

Malcolm Rifkind: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many absence days in his Department related to employees suffering (a) stress and (b) other mental health problems in the year to April 2005; and what the cost was to his Department.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions does not collect information in the format requested. Our sick absence statistics contain figures for absences due to mental and behavioural disorders, which is the category that includes stress-related absences, both those which are work-related and those which are not.
	For the 12 month period 1 June 2004 to 31 May 2005 the total number of working days available was 31,849,121. The average number of working days lost due to mental and behavioural disorders was 362,907. The salary cost to the Department was £22 million.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Diseases (Africa)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will support the request made to the G8 for the establishment of a panel of international experts to deal with the control of animal disease, with particular reference to Africa.

Ben Bradshaw: The issue of animal diseases, particularly relating to Africa, was not raised at the G8 summit.
	However, Defra, along with other Government Departments (DoH, MoD, Home Office, DfiD) and international organisations (WHO, FAO, OIE, World Bank), is currently involved in an Office of Science and Technology (OST) managed Foresight project entitled 'Detection and Identification of Infectious Disease'. This project seeks to identify potential threats from infectious diseases of animals, plants and humans, across sub-Saharan Africa, China and the UK, and report on ways to help mitigate these threats. As part of this project, the OST is currently seeking views from leading experts from the UK and overseas, particularly Africa.

Climate Change

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce a public education programme on the effects of climate change and steps which can be taken by individuals to limit these effects.

Elliot Morley: On 16 February this year my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, announced a Climate Change Communications Initiative worth £12 million, to be spilt over three years (£4 million per 2005, 2006 and 2007). The initiative aims to change attitudes within the general public at local and regional levels through communication projects. Research shows that getting attitude change is the best first step to behaviour change. Defra, working with partners (EST, CT, DTI, EA, DFT, UKCIP), NGOs and others, will begin implementing this communication initiative in 2005. A main component of the initiative is a Fund and grants from this to community and other groups will enable the establishment of local projects. This will be supported with a website, a communicators guide and local activities. The website will link with Defra's children's section which addresses climate change consistent with the main initiative.

Correspondence

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is for dealing with and responding to correspondence received in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic.

Jim Knight: Correspondence received by the Department in Welsh is dealt with in accordance with Defra's Welsh Language Scheme which came into force in October 2002. This requires my Department to reply in Welsh within 15 days, the same period of time for correspondence in English. Any correspondence received in Scots or Irish Gaelic is dealt with at a local level on a case-by-case basis. This policy is under review and would be looked at again if a number of communications were received in either language.

Departmental Expenditure

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total spending by her Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in (i) Dundee East constituency, (ii) Tayside and (iii) the City of Dundee was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The Department does not employ any staff in the Dundee, East constituency or the City of Dundee. The staff employed in Tayside are not based in a Defra building. The costs of these staff, estimated on a standard cost basis, are shown in the following table, together with an estimate of accommodation overheads are based on a Regional specific percentage of the staff costs. It is not possible to isolate procurement costs by constituency.
	Information on regional distribution of staff at 1 April 2004 is available in the Libraries of both Houses, and also at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/statistical_information/statistics/contents_for_civil_service_ statistics_2004_report/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution. Figures relating to 1 April 2005 will be published next year.
	
		2004–05 -- £000
		
			  (i) Dundee East (ii) Tayside (iii) City of Dundee 
		
		
			 (a) Staff 0 517 0 
			 (b) Accommodation 0 5 0 
			 (c) Procurement 0 n/k 0

Emissions

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the level was of UK emissions in each of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases in terms of tonnes of carbon equivalent in each year since 1990; and what the main reasons were for (a) sudden increases and (b) reductions between years for each gas.

Elliot Morley: The following table shows UK emissions for gases, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), the hydrofluorocarbons (MFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) in million tonnes of carbon equivalent for each year since 1990. The data are from the most recent UK greenhouse gas inventory.
	
		
			  CO 2 CH 4 N 2 O HFCs PFCs SF 6 Total (emissions) 
		
		
			 1990 165.4 21.1 18.5 3.1 0.4 0.3 208.8 
			 1991 167.2 20.9 18.0 3.2 0.3 0.3 210.0 
			 1992 162.9 20.6 16.1 3.4 0.2 0.3 203.5 
			 1993 159.0 19.9 15.1 3.5 0.1 0.3 198.0 
			 1994 157.0 18.1 16.0 3.8 0.1 0.3 195.4 
			 1995 154:7 18.0 15.6 4.2 0.1 0.4 192.9 
			 1996 160.6 17.5 16.1 4.6 0.1 0.4 199.2 
			 1997 153.9 16.6 16.6 5.2 0.1 0.3 192.9 
			 1998 154.5 15.7 15.8 4.7 0.1 0.4 191.3 
			 1999 151.7 14.7 12.3 3.0 0.1 0.4 182.1 
			 2000 152.8 13.6 12.2 2.5 0.1 0.5 181.8 
			 2001 157.4 12.8 11.6 2.7 0.1 0.4 185.0 
			 2002 152.7 12.3 11.2 2.8 0.1 0.4 179.5 
			 2003 156.1 11.1 11.0 2.9 0.1 0.4 181.6 
		
	
	For carbon dioxide the main increase and decreases superimposed on the background trend are associated with the temporary peaks on 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2002, and the increase between 2002 and 2003. These were associated mainly with temperature fluctuations relative to the trend in temperatures. The underlying trend in emissions is determined by the interaction between economic growth, the mix of fuels in the economy and the energy needed per unit of economic output.
	The rapid decline in CH 4 emissions between 1993 and 1994 was mainly due to a large decrease in emissions from coal mining. Ch 4 emissions follow a gradual downward trend that can be attributed to the sum of reductions in emissions from energy, waste and agriculture. The underlying decrease is a result of changing waste disposal practices and a reduction in fugitive emissions from fuels. Agriculture emissions were reasonably steady until the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001 led to reduced livestock numbers and a subsequent reduction in enteric fermentation.
	The large decrease in N 2 O emissions between 1998 and 1999 was due to the introduction of abatement technology at a plant producing adipic acid for nylon manufacture. The more gradual rise from 1993 to 1997 can be attributed to an increase in the number of cars fitted with catalytic converters and to a slight rise in emissions from agriculture. The overall downward trend in N+O emissions is due to the gradual rise in emissions from energy being offset by a larger decrease in the industrial sector and general downward trend in agricultural emissions.
	HFCs slow rise was dramatically cut between 1997 and 1999 with the installation of abatement technology.

Food (EU Border Security)

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with farming Ministers from other EU countries on ensuring that EU borders are secure with regard to the importation into the EU of food products; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Knight: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, has regular opportunities to talk to her EU colleagues about a wide range of issues during the meetings of the Agriculture Council.
	A comprehensive import regime exists in European Community law to ensure that food of animal origin does not pose a health risk. Products such as meat, eggs and dairy products must come from approved establishments in approved countries and must be accompanied by official health certificates. Products may only be imported into the EU via approved Border Inspection Posts where veterinary checks are carried out to make sure they comply with the import conditions set out in law.
	Imported food, including food not of animal origin, must meet food safety and food standards requirements equivalent to those for UK-produced food, and can be subject to checks on the basis of risk assessment by local food authorities at UK ports and inland to ensure they comply.
	Emergency safeguard measures to further restrict or control imports may be taken where there is an outbreak of disease in an exporting country, or other circumstances likely to present a serious public or animal health risk.
	The importation of products of meat and dairy products by individual travellers in their personal luggage is judged to be a potential route by which animal disease could be introduced into the European Union. Following pressure by the Government, new, tighter EU rules were introduced in 2003 effectively banning personal imports of meat and dairy products (including bushmeat). The Government have increased the level of resource available to combat the illegal importation of such products.

Food Miles

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to reduce food miles.

Jim Knight: Defra commissioned a study to assess the validity of 'food miles' as an indicator of sustainability. This independent study by AEA Technology, was published on 15 July 2005.
	The report shows that in general higher levels of vehicle activity lead to higher environmental impacts. But it is not a simple matter of so-called 'food miles'. The mode, timing, location and efficiency of food transport is important as well as the distance. Copies of the report, can be found on the Defra website at
	http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/foodmiles/default.asp
	The Government are working with the food industry to reduce the environmental and social impacts of food transportation by encouraging widespread adoption of best practice and by measuring performance. It has consulted on proposals in the draft Food Industry Sustainability Strategy, developed with stakeholders, that the sector prepare by 2006 a plan for achieving a 20 per cent. reduction in the environmental and social costs of food transport by about 2012.

Freedom of Information Act

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests have been answered by the Department; and in how many cases (a) information was wholly exempted, (b) information was partly exempted and (c) the requests were answered in full.

Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend, the Minister for Constitutional Affairs on 12 September 2005, Official Report, column 2248W.

Landfill (Former Foodstuffs)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether it is her Department's policy to impose a complete ban on former foodstuffs being sent to landfill from 1 January 2006;
	(2)  if she will list the occasions when her Department gave guidance to representatives of waste management companies in connection with the disposal of former foodstuffs to landfill from 1 January 2006;
	(3)  when her Department first learnt that the European Commission would not impose a complete ban on former foodstuffs being sent to landfill from 1 January 2006;
	(4)  whether she supports the decision of the European Commission not to impose a complete ban on former foodstuffs being sent to landfill from 1 January 2006;
	(5)  whether her Department made (a) oral representations and (b) written representations to the European Commission not to impose a complete ban on former foodstuffs being sent to landfill from 1 January 2006.

Ben Bradshaw: The original intention of the Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 was to impose a complete ban on former foodstuffs containing products of animal origin being sent to landfill from 1 January 2006. However, on 20 May this year, prior to a working group meeting in Brussels on 23 May, officials from my Department along with those in other member states received papers from the European Commission indicating a change in the Commission's approach to implementing the ban. Subsequently, at the meeting on 23 May, the Commission announced its intention to allow pre-treated former foodstuffs that member states believe do not pose a risk to animal or public health to continue to go to landfill, under the control of the EU Landfill Directive rather than the Animal By-Products Regulation. The Commission has now tabled a draft amending Regulation to bring this into effect. The draft covers former foodstuffs that are not considered safe to be fed to livestock but which can safely be disposed of to landfill or treated in an alternative system; and, those that can be fed to livestock (bread, pasta, etc) or be disposed of to landfill. The measure does not apply to raw meat and raw fish which are already banned from disposal to landfill and which must be disposed of in accordance with the Regulation i.e. by rendering, incineration, composting or treatment by biogas.
	The Department did not ask the Commission to reverse the complete ban on former foodstuffs being sent to landfill. However, in the light of discussions with a variety of parties, we drew the Commission's attention to the difficulties they had with compliance, and particularly those that small retailers anticipated. We suggested to the Commission that these difficulties could be lessened if the requirements for commercial documentation and transport were brought more into line with existing environmental controls, and if alternative treatments were to be permitted providing livestock were not able to have access to the treated product. Nevertheless, we support the principle that as far as the Animal By-Products Regulation is concerned the ban on landfill should apply only to those former foodstuffs which present a risk to animal and public health. The Government is committed to reducing the UK's reliance on landfill, in order to reduce its environmental impact and because landfilling is a missed opportunity to recover value from waste. Therefore the Government will continue to adopt measures that will progressively discourage the landfilling of wastes including former foodstuffs.
	The Department has given regular guidance on the disposal of former foodstuffs during the course of business to waste management companies and there is detailed guidance on the current disposal rules on the Defra website. In addition, throughout the course of this year officials have held a number of meetings with the waste management sector on the disposal of former foodstuffs. Most recently, officials met a number of waste management companies and the Environment Services Association on 13 April, the UK Renderers' Association on 10 May and 21 June, the Composting Association on 27 May and the Regulated Incinerator Operators on 21 June.

Opinion Surveys

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) subject matter and (b) dates were of opinion survey research undertaken by the Department and its agencies in the last 12 months; if she will place copies of the results of each survey in the Library; which companies were used in conducting the research; and how much each was paid.

Jim Knight: Defra and its agencies have not undertaken any opinion survey research in the last 12 months.

Telephone Inquiries

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what facilities her Department has to deal with telephone inquiries in (a) Welsh, (b) Scots Gaelic and (c) Irish Gaelic.

Jim Knight: Telephone inquiries received in Welsh are dealt with in accordance with Defra's Welsh Language Scheme which came into force in October 2002. This requires operators in offices dealing with the public in Wales to answer calls bilingually and to have a system whereby calls in Welsh taken by staff who cannot speak Welsh can be transferred to a Welsh-speaker. Defra does not currently have facilities for dealing with telephone inquiries in Scots or Irish Gaelic.

Waste Management

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of (a) aluminium, (b) wood, (c) paper, (d) green waste, (e) glass, (f) steel and (g) textiles there were in the municipal waste stream in each year since 2001; and how much of each she estimates was (i) recycled, (ii) landfilled and (iii) sent to energy from waste facilities.

Ben Bradshaw: Information on tonnages of specific materials in the municipal waste stream are not available, other than when separately collected for recycling. However, composition analysis of household waste for the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report "Waste not, want not", November 2002, provided proportions of individual materials in the waste stream. These proportions have been applied to annual household waste tonnages from the Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey to produce the estimate for England is shown in the following table.
	
		Thousand tonnes
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 All cans 664 672 662 
			 Scrap metal and white goods 1,149 1,162 1,145 
			 Paper and card 4,717 4,774 4,702 
			 Green waste (compost) 5,222 5,285 5,206 
			 Glass 1,746 1,767 1,740 
			 Wood 1,059 1,072 1,056 
			 Textiles 745 754 743 
		
	
	Data from the Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey show tonnages of different materials from household sources collected for recycling in England.
	
		Thousand tonnes
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 All cans 26 28 43 
			 Scrap metal and white goods 369 419 464 
			 Paper and card 990 1,126 1,271 
			 Green waste (compost) 978 1,189 1,360 
			 Glass 431 470 568 
			 Wood 62 119 180 
			 Textiles 46 54 58 
			 Co-mingled 221 268 470 
		
	
	A high proportion aluminium and steel collected for recycling are reported from the 'mixed cans' category therefore an 'all cans' total has been provided. Co-mingled category has been included, although the exact composition of co-mingled, by definition, is unknown a high proportion of paper is likely and will frequently include cans and plastic.

Wales (Government)

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how she intends to implement Paragraph 3.12 of the White Paper, "Better Governance for Wales" (Cm 6582), in respect of any bill she introduces in the current session of Parliament.

Greg Knight: I intend to implement the Government's policy as stated in paragraph 3.12 of the White Paper "Better Governance for Wales" Cm 6582. The Department is in discussion with the Welsh Assembly on the issues concerned.

HEALTH

Alcohol and Drug-related Incidents (Hospital Workers)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital workers in England have been disciplined for alcohol and drug-related incidents since 1997, broken down by (a) profession and (b) gender.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment of spare capacity at the university hospital North Durham was made before Alliance Medical was awarded a contract to provide scanning services.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 July 2005
	The additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capacity commissioned nationally from Alliance Medical Limited was designed to complement existing national health service services and to quickly bring on stream additional capacity to help meet rising demand for MRI examinations and to begin to address waits for MRI services.
	It is for strategic health authorities to identify where, when and for how long the mobile units will deploy and for the NHS as a whole to ensure existing NHS diagnostic capacity is used to its full potential in order to bring down waiting times and achieve the 18-week general practitioner referral to start of treatment target by 2008.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2005, Official Report, column 1091W, on Alliance Medical Ltd., whether her Department checks the qualifications of radiologists working in (a) Belgium, (b) South Africa and (c) Spain who assess scan results for Alliance Medical.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 14 July 2005
	Staffing issues are a matter for Alliance Medical Limited. All radiologists must be on the appropriate specialist register of the General Medical Council.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2005, Official Report, column 985W, how it is possible to tell that Alliance Medical were able to provide scans at a lower cost than the direct access tariff.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 July 2005
	Financial evaluation of the tenders for the mobile magnetic resonance imaging contract illustrated that the cost of Alliance Medical Ltd.'s scans are less than national health service costs.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 13 July 2005, Official Report, column 1124W, what systems are in place to ensure Alliance Medical do not recruit staff who have been employed in the NHS in the preceding six-month period.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 July 2005
	An integral part of the contract for the provision of fast-track mobile magnetic resonance imaging services is the additionality rule, whereby staff who have worked for the national health service in a clinical capacity in the preceding six-month period cannot be employed by Alliance Medical Ltd.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment of suitable sites for a diagnostic scanner were made before the contract for Alliance Medical to provide diagnostic scanning services in the NHS was signed.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 July 2005
	A large number of sites were understood to have already existed in the national health service, from which mobile services had already been delivered. Following the award of the contract to Alliance Medical Ltd. a number of potentially suitable existing sites were identified. The Department has continued to work with strategic health authority (SHA) cluster leads to ensure that sites are specifically prepared and to provide advice on new site construction. It is, however, the responsibility of the SHAs to ensure that the sites are available.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2005, Official Report, column 1138W, on MRI scans (Durham), what consultations were carried out with local NHS trusts on utilisation rates of scanners prior to the award of the contract to Alliance Medical.

Liam Byrne: A capacity planning exercise was conducted with strategic health authorities in 2004.
	The additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capacity commissioned nationally from Alliance Medical Ltd. was designed to complement existing national health service services and to quickly bring on stream additional capacity to help meet rising demand for MRI examinations and to begin to address waits for MRI imaging services.
	Utilisation rates of NHS scanners are a matter for NHS trusts, in partnership with their local primary care trusts as service commissioners. While the independent sector has a key part to play, NHS providers of diagnostics services also need to ensure that they are using their diagnostic capacity to the full.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the impact of Alliance Medical providing diagnostic scanning services in the NHS on the utilisation of existing diagnostic scanning capacity within the NHS;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effect on productivity of the provision by Alliance Medical of diagnostic scanning services in the NHS.

Liam Byrne: holding answers 12 July 2005 and 14 July 2005
	The number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans performed on national health service patients has been increasing year on year to over 855,000 in 2003–04. This trend is expected to continue with around 58 per cent. scans taking place in the NHS and 24 per cent. more in the independent sector, for NHS patients, by 2007–08.
	Overall, by 2007–08 there will be double the amount of MRI capacity compared with the position in 2003–04. This is of great benefit to NHS patients and will contribute to our commitment to achieving a maximum wait of 18-weeks from general practitioner referral to start of treatment by 2008.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions have taken place between Chester-le-Street and Durham Primary Care Trust and her Department regarding Alliance Medical;
	(2)  what issues were discussed at the last meeting between Chester-le-Street and Durham Primary Care Trust and her Department;
	(3)  what issues were raised by County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority during their meeting with her Department in early June;
	(4)  if she will list the issues discussed at the last meeting between Derwentside primary care trust and her Department.

Liam Byrne: holding answers 4, 5 and 7 July 2005
	The Department's meeting with County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority (SHA) in early June was part of regular discussions held with representatives of SHAs about operational issues regarding the provision of independent sector mobile magnetic resonance imaging scanning services.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when she expects Alliance Medical's diagnostic facility at Consett to be operational;
	(2)  where in Consett the diagnostic scanner operated by Alliance Medical will be sited.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 11 July 2005
	Site location discussions in the North Durham area are ongoing. The Department is awaiting the County Durham and North Tees Valley strategic health authority's response on an option appraisal paper.

Alliance Medical

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS was of (a) providing and (b) operating mobile scanning units in 2004–05.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 11 July 2005
	The major costs of running and providing the mobile scanning units are borne by Alliance Medical Limited. However, modest revenue costs are borne by the host national health service trust for utility bills. In addition, the Department allocated central funding to strategic health authority (SHA) clusters to upgrade the sites identified by SHAs, to ensure they were suitable for the mobile units and to allow scanning to commence.

Arm's Length Bodies

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what costs have been incurred in (a) establishing and (b) closing arm's length bodies since 30 November 2004.

Jane Kennedy: The cost of establishing arm's length bodies (ALBs) since 30 November 2004 is estimated at £4.7 million. The known cost of closing ALBs since that date is £32 million.
	The following ALBs have closed/merged with other organisations since 30 November 2004.
	Family Health Services Appeal Authority (a special health authority).
	Health Development Agency.
	National Clinical Assessment Authority.
	National Radiological Protection Board.
	Public Health Laboratory Service.
	NHS Information Authority.
	NHS Modernisation Agency.
	NHSU.
	The following ALBs have been established since 30 November 2004:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre.
	Human Tissue Authority.
	NHS Connecting for Health.
	NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.

Bed/Ward Closures

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals for bed and ward closures by NHS hospitals she has been informed of (a) formally and (b) informally.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 July 2005
	It is for local national health service organisations to decide on ward or bed closures. The Government have given local authority overview and scrutiny committees the power to review and scrutinise health services from the perspective of their local populations. NHS bodies are under a duty to consult overview and scrutiny committees on any plans to make substantial variation to NHS services. Those committees have the powers to refer any proposal to the Secretary of State if they believe the plans are not in the interests of the health service. Currently there are three referrals from overview and scrutiny committees being considered by the Secretary of State.
	The Department does not routinely collect centrally operational management information on proposals to close wards and beds outside of the overview and scrutiny committee process.

Care Assistants

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of healthcare staff recruited in each of the last eight years have been care assistants;
	(2)  how many care assistants have been recruited into the NHS in each of the last eight years.

Liam Byrne: holding answers 11 July 2005
	Data on the number of staff recruited to the national health service are not collected centrally. The table shows the net growth in NHS staff and healthcare assistants.
	
		Total NHS work force in England as at 30 September each year, England -- Headcount
		
			  Total employed staff including general practitioners and practice staff of which: Healthcare assistants 
		
		
			 1998 1,071,562 184,480 
			 1999 1,097,376 189,085 
			 2000 1,117,841 194,000 
			 2001 1,166,016 204,925 
			 2002 1,223,824 210,462 
			 2003 1,282,930 221,904 
			 2004 1,331,087 223,526 
		
	
	Sources:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre non-medical workforce census.
	Health and Social Care Information Centre Medical and dental workforce census.
	Health and Social Care Information Centre general and personal medical services statistics.

Choose and Book System

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many GP referrals have been made using the choose and book system; what the total cost of the system is to date; what the total estimated final cost of the system is; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many e-bookings were made for GP referrals to hospital in each month since the first month when e-booking was introduced.

Liam Byrne: The number of general practitioner referrals made using the choose and book system each month since the system went live, on schedule, in July 2004 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Month Number of bookings per month Total bookings (cumulative) 
		
		
			 July 2004 6 6 
			 August 2004 1 7 
			 September 2004 2 9 
			 October 2004 7 16 
			 November 2004 23 39 
			 December 2004 32 71 
			 January 2005 40 111 
			 February 2005 60 181 
			 March 2005 158 339 
			 April 2005 313 652 
			 May 2005 375 1,027 
			 June 2005 409 1,436 
			 July 2005(14) 440 1,876 
		
	
	(14) As of close of business 20 July.
	Use of the system to date has largely been confined to a small number of 'early adopter' health communities. The national health service is now beginning to implement the service more widely, taking into account the experience gained in the early adopters. Feedback from early adopters and patients about the service is positive, and the number of patients able to book their hospital appointments electronically is increasing rapidly.
	The cost to date of developing and beginning to implement the system is £28.7 million. The total committed contract cost is £65 million.

Commission for Social Care Inspection

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the reasons were for the decision to merge the Commission for Social Care Inspection with the Healthcare Commission;
	(2)  if she will publish the regulatory impact assessment or equivalent document of the decision to merge the Commission for Social Care Inspection with the Healthcare Commission;
	(3)  what the estimated (a) budget and (b) full-time equivalent staff of the Healthcare Commission will be once it has merged with the Commission for Social Care Inspection in 2008.

Jane Kennedy: The merger of the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Healthcare Commission will support closer integration of social care and health inspection and form part of Government plans to streamline public service inspection by reducing the number of main inspectorates to four. It forms part of the Government's wider programme to modernise and streamline the inspection of public services. We will consider its regulatory impact as part of detailed work on the shape of the new organisation.
	The merger is expected to generate efficiencies and economies of scale which contribute to the delivery of savings to be attained across all of the Department's arm's length bodies (ALBs) as a result of the ALB review. Details of budgets and staffing levels of the new body will be developed as implementation planning progresses, following the wider review of regulation in social care and health now under way.

Dentistry

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines have been provided to NHS dentists regarding the cost of dentures.

Rosie Winterton: pursuant to the reply, 21 July 2005, Official Report, c. 2156W
	I regret that my previous reply was incorrect. The table indicated that the current fee paid to NHS dentists for full dentures in chrome cobalt or stainless steel was £279.60. It should have read £278.60. The table also implied that the remuneration paid to the dentist included both this fee and the patient charge. This was misleading. The remuneration paid to the dentist comprises only the NHS fee.
	The correct table is as follows.
	
		£
		
			  Type of denture  Synthetic resin Chrome cobalt or stainless steel 
		
		
			 Dentists fee 158.10 278.60 
		
	
	Note:
	Patients who are liable to pay charges contribute 80 per cent. of the dentist's fees.

Dentistry

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists were practising in (a) South East Cambridgeshire constituency and (b) England per head of population in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table. These figures cover dentists working in primary care dental services, but not hospital or community dental services.
	
		Number of national health service dentists and rate per 10,000 population in the specified areas as at 31 March each year
		
			  England South East Cambridgeshire constituency South Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) 
		
		
			 Number of dentists 
			 2005 20,088 37 30 
			 2004 19,294 34 27 
			 2003 18,962 31 25 
			 2002 18,724 27 27 
			 2001 18,373 26 26 
			 2000 18,003 25 26 
			 1999 17,471 25 29 
			 1998 16,925 20 21 
			 1997 16,462 20 22 
			 Ratio of dentists per 10,000 population 
			 2005 4.0 — 2.2 
			 2004 3.9 — 2.0 
			 2003 3.8 — 1.9 
			 2002 3.8 — 2.0 
			 2001 3.7 — 2.0 
			 2000 3.7 — 2.0 
			 1999 3.6 — 2.2 
			 1998 3.5 — 1.6 
			 1997 3.4 — 1.7 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Population data are not available at parliamentary constituency area.
	2. The figures are based on the numbers of dentists with open general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS) contracts as at 31 March each year.
	3. Dentists include principals, assistants and trainees.
	4. Prison contracts have been excluded.
	5. Dentists are counted within specified areas based on the postcode of their dental practice. Areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics all fields postcode directory—November 2004.
	6. Population data for the PCT in 1997–2000 have been calculated on 2001 population data as population data at PCT area are not available for these years. All data for 2004 and 2005 have been calculated on 2003 population data as these are the most up to date available.
	7. The figures take into account any notifications received up to 5 July 2005.
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board.

IT Projects

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what computerisation or IT failures have occurred in public sector projects managed by her Department in each year since 1997; what the contracted cost of the project was in each case; and what estimate she has made of the direct and indirect costs of failure or breakdown in each case.

Liam Byrne: None. Responsibility for management of national health service and social services projects lies with individual statutory authorities. Exceptionally, since November 2002, delivery and support for implementation of the national programme for information technology (NPfTT) in the NHS has been carried out within the Department and since 1 April 2005 by the NHS "Connecting for Health" agency. The NPfTT continues to make outstanding progress, with unprecedented achievement in the procurement and deployment of technology across the NHS.

Diagnostic and Treatment Services

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expected opening date is of the diagnostic and treatment centre at Fossets Farm, Southend; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 6 July 2005
	The Department announced on 17 August that the national health service will not be proceeding with the creation of an independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) in Southend, deciding instead to continue to provide clinical services through its existing facilities.
	This decision is not a reflection on the ability of ACCL or the independent sector to meet the needs of the NHS and the Department.
	The preferred bidder, ACCL, has worked with all NHS parties in good faith throughout with a view to providing a high quality facility.
	The activity required by the local health community to meet its waiting time targets and provide choice for patients, will be delivered through the next phase of independent sector procurement, which is currently going through the procurement process. All monies set aside for the scheme will be spent on patient care.

Diagnostic and Treatment Services

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what work her Department has carried out to assess the existing capacity to carry out diagnostic scans in the NHS.

Liam Byrne: The Department conducted a capacity planning exercise with strategic health authorities in 2004, which demonstrated that more diagnostic services were required, in order to meet waiting times targets for hospital treatment. Capacity plans showed the following:
	Between 2004–05 and 2007–08, magnetic resonance imaging activity needs to increase by more than 100 per cent.
	Between 2004–05 and 2007–08, computed tomography activity needs to increase by 33 per cent.
	Between 2004–05 and 2007–08, non-obstetric ultrasound activity needs to increase by 28 per cent.
	Endoscopy activity rates need to rise by up to 60 per cent. by 2008.
	We have invested heavily in existing national health service diagnostic capacity and will continue to do so. However, NHS providers cannot deliver such large increases in activity alone. The independent sector has an important role to play, which is why we are proceeding with a procurement of £1 billion diagnostics services from the independent sector over five years from 2006–07. The NHS and the independent sector together will deliver an unprecedented expansion in diagnostic services for NHS patients.

Diagnostic and Treatment Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on progress with her Department's plans to procure extra capacity in diagnostics from the independent sector.

Liam Byrne: The procurement of additional diagnostic capacity from the independent sector is progressing well. The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) notice formally initiating the procurement was published on 26 March 2005 and the pre-qualification questionnaire has since been distributed to the organisations that expressed an interest.

Digestive Conditions

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to raise awareness among (a) health professionals and (b) the public of the symptoms of digestive conditions and diseases.

Liam Byrne: Addressing the training needs of health professionals is the responsibility of the appropriate regulatory bodies. They set standards for the pre-registration training of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, approve the education institutions that provide the training and determine the curricula.
	Post-registration training needs for national health service staff are decided against local NHS priorities, through appraisal processes and training needs analyses informed by local delivery plans and the needs of the service. Local authorities and health service providers decide how best to provide services to meet the needs of the individuals.
	The NHS Plan promotes and supports self care as one of the five key service elements of a patient-centred NHS—preventive care, self care, primary care, hospital care and intermediate care. This is about promoting the involvement of patients and the public in their own treatment and care by providing appropriate facilities, for example, through information, education, training, equipment and peer support and by partnership with health and social care professionals where necessary. Patients have access to NHS Direct and NHS Direct Online, which includes a health encyclopaedia and frequently asked questions on issues such as digestive conditions.

Doctors (Hospital Shifts)

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the minimum level is of medical practice experience that the most senior non-accident and emergency doctor on a weekend hospital shift must have; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: All doctors must be appropriately qualified for the work they do. It is a professional duty of the individual doctor to work within the limits of their clinical competence and it is the duty of their national health service employer to provide a safe service to patients and to all the necessary support and supervision to staff whether at weekends or at any other time.

E111 Form

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many EU nationals have received NHS treatment under the E111 scheme in each year since 1995, broken down by country.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally. Payments from other member states to the United Kingdom for such treatments are generally based on average UK treatment costs.

Elder Abuse

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with (a) the Commission for Social Care Inspection and (b) other stakeholders on recommendation 7 in the Health Committee's report on elder abuse, published on 20 April 2004, in relation to the reporting of adverse incidents in situations where vulnerable adults are in receipt of domiciliary care services; what steps she is taking to ensure that medication systems within care homes and domiciliary care reflect good practice; and if she will make a statement on other steps she is taking to tackle elder abuse.

Liam Byrne: The Department has held discussions with the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and other stakeholders on recommendation 7 in the Health Committee's report on elder abuse. The outcome from this work will be fed into the review of the National Minimum Standards announced by the Government in October 2004.

Emergency Response Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls to NHS Direct have resulted in an emergency response in each year since 1999; and what proportion of the total number of calls this represents in each year.

Liam Byrne: An emergency response is deemed as a referral to 999 or an accident and emergency (A&E) department. The number of calls referred to 999 and A&E for years 2003, 2004 and 2005 are shown in the table. Data prior to 2003 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Call referred to  Number of calls As a percentage of total calls 
		
		
			 2003   
			 999 210,371 5.78 
			 A&E 420,359 11.55 
			
			 2004   
			 999 236,309 5.92 
			 A&E 400,065 10.02 
			
			 2005   
			 999 120,705 5.45 
			 A&E 189,551 8.56

Engagements

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the (a) individuals other than Government officials and (b) organisations with which she has held meetings since 7 May; and on what date each meeting took place.

Jane Kennedy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and the Department's Ministers meet many individuals and organisations and attend many functions relating to Government business and as part of the process of policy development.

Finished Consultant Episodes

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes for ICD10 primary diagnosis G47.3 there were in each year since 2002–03; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where the primary diagnosis is sleep apnoea—ICD10 Code=G47.3. National health service hospitals England, data years: 2002–03 to 2003–04
		
			 Data year FCEs 
		
		
			 2002–03 11,704 
			 2003–04 12,162 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	3. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data is ungrossed).
	Source:
	HES, Health and Social Care Information Centre

Food Safety Management Regulations

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to enable environmental health officers at local level to enforce EU Regulation 852/2004 on food safety management systems, with particular reference to the requirement that all food producers other than primary producers must demonstrate that they have implemented a risk-based food safety management system.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 14 July 2005
	I refer the hon. Member to the published Food Standards Agency (FSA) board paper FSA 050302 of March 2005. This paper sets out the approach being adopted by the FSA to work with local authorities in assisting businesses to achieve compliance with food safety management requirements. Copies of the paper have been placed in the Library.

Free Fruit

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much fruit was (a) supplied and (b) wasted in the Free Fruit for Schools scheme in each year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: We do not hold information centrally about the amount of fruit supplied by the school fruit scheme. We also do not hold centrally information on the amount of fruit and vegetables that is wasted. However, we do try to ensure the fruit supplied is consistent with the eligible numbers of pupils in the school and that uneaten fruit is distributed to other children in the school.

General Practitioners

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there were in (a) South East Cambridgeshire constituency and (b) England per head of population in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available on a South East Cambridgeshire constituency basis. Information in respect of England and Norfolk Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) from 1997–2004 and the Cambridgeshire primary care trusts (PCTs) from 2001 to 2004 is shown in the table.
	
		General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population for specified organisations1997–December 2004 -- Number (headcount)
		
			   1997 1998 
			   General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 England  28,046 58 28,251 58 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 1,263 59 1,276 59 
			 5JH Cambridge City PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5JK East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5GF Huntingdonshire PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5AF North Peterborough PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5JJ South Cambridgeshire PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5AG South Peterborough PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			   1999 2000 
			   General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 England  28,467 58 28,593 58 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 1,283 59 1,293 59 
			 5JH Cambridge City PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5JK East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5GF Huntingdonshire PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5AF North Peterborough PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5JJ South Cambridgeshire PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5AG South Peterborough PCT n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			   2001 2002 
			   General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 England  28,802 58 29,202 59 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 1,302 60 1,316 60 
			 5JH Cambridge City PCT 85 77 86 77 
			 5JK East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT 82 59 78 56 
			 5GF Huntingdonshire PCT 85 59 89 62 
			 5AF North Peterborough PCT 55 56 57 59 
			 5JJ South Cambridgeshire PCT 60 46 63 48 
			 5AG South Peterborough PCT 53 51 52 50 
		
	
	
		
			   2003 2004 
			   General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 England  30,358 61 31,523 63 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 1,396 63 1,472 66 
			 5JH Cambridge City PCT 92 80 99 86 
			 5JK East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT 81 56 85 59 
			 5GF Huntingdonshire PCT 95 65 103 71 
			 5AF North Peterborough PCT 60 62 61 63 
			 5JJ South Cambridgeshire PCT 75 56 66 49 
			 5AG South Peterborough PCT 56 53 61 58 
		
	
	
		
			   December 2004 
			   General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(15) per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 England  31,798 64 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 1,475 66 
			 5JH Cambridge City PCT 100 87 
			 5JK East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT 86 59 
			 5GF Huntingdonshire PCT 100 69 
			 5AF North Peterborough PCT 61 63 
			 5JJ South Cambridgeshire PCT 71 53 
			 5AG South Peterborough PCT 61 58 
		
	
	n/a—denotes data not available.
	(15) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes contracted GPs, GMS others and PMS others. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (para. 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
	Note:
	Data as at 1 October 1997–99, 30 September 2000–04 and 31 December 2004.
	Source:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
	2001 ONS Population Census.

General Practitioners

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the ratio of practising NHS general practitioners to population was in (a) Wellingborough constituency, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England in the last year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available on a Wellingborough constituency basis. Information in respect of England and Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland strategic health authority (SHA) and the Northampton primary care trusts (PCTs) as at December 2004 is shown in the table.
	
		General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(16) per 100,000 population(17) for specified organisations,as at 31 December 2004 -- Number (headcount)
		
			   General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(16) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(16) per 100,000 population(17) 
		
		
			  England 31,798 64 
			 SHA Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA 894 57 
			 
			 PCTs
			 5AC Daventry and South Northamptonshire 60 57 
			 5LW Northampton 126 60 
			 5LV Northamptonshire Heartlands 150 54 
		
	
	Notes:
	(16) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes contracted GPs, general medical service (CMS) others and personal medical service (PMS) others.
	(17) Population data as at 2003.
	Sources:
	1. National Health Service Health and Social Care Information Centre CMS and PMS statistics.
	2. 2001 ONS population census.

General Practitioners

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those primary care trusts which have expressed an interest in taking part in the programme announced on 29 March to expand family doctor services in areas of limited general practitioner availability.

Liam Byrne: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) were asked by the Department to communicate with primary care trusts (PCTs) and gauge any interest in being involved in the primary care plurality pathfinder programme, which was announced in a press release on 29 March 2005. The PCTs which expressed an interest in discussing the programme further are listed as follows:
	Primary care plurality pathfinder programme—PCTs which expressed an interest in discussing the programme
	Barking and Dagenham PCT
	Bradford City Teaching PCT
	Burnley Pendle and Rossendale PCT
	Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire PCTs
	City and Hackney TPCT
	Cumbria and Lancashire SHA joint submission—all PCTs
	Doncaster PCTs (West, Central and East)
	Eastleigh and Test Valley South PCT and New Forest PCT
	Fareham and Gosport PCT
	Gateshead PCT
	Great Yarmouth TPCT
	Hartlepool PCT
	Heart of Birmingham PCT
	Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT
	Kensington and Chelsea PCT
	Leeds PCTs—joint submission from East Leeds, North East Leeds, and South Leeds PCTs
	Medway TPCT
	Middlesbrough PCT
	North Hampshire PCT and Blackwater Valley and Hart PCT
	North Tyneside PCT
	Northamptonshire Heartlands PCT
	Plymouth Teaching PCT
	Sandwell PCT
	South Birmingham PCT
	South Sefton PCT
	South Tyneside PCT
	South Western Staffordshire PCT
	South Yorkshire SHA—joint submission from Rotherham PCT, North Sheffield PCT, South East Sheffield PCT, Sheffield West PCT, Sheffield
	South West PCT, Barnsley PCT
	Southwark PCT
	Thames Valley SHA—Reading PCT and Wokingham PCT

Green/White Papers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) Green and (b) White Papers her Department has produced since 1997; and if she will list these in date order.

Jane Kennedy: A list of all Command Papers produced by the Department from 10 May 2001 to the end of June 2005, prepared by the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), is available in the Library. This list by Department details the Command Paper number, title and date of publication.
	It is not possible to separately identify the number of Green and White Papers. Information is not available prior to 10 May 2001 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	A list of Command Papers from 2001 onwards is also available on the OPSI website at www.opsi.gov.uk. The list can be viewed alphabetically by Department as well as numerically.

Health Care Inspectorates

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inspectorates with a remit that covers (a) social services and long-term care for the elderly and (b) health care, in whole or in part, have been in operation in each year since 1997.

Liam Byrne: Until April 2002, local councils regulated independent sector care homes and health authorities regulated nursing homes. Each council regulated the care homes in its area, based on national regulations using locally developed standards. This system led to inconsistencies between different areas and some services, like domiciliary care, were not regulated at all. The Government addressed this by introducing new regulatory arrangements to ensure consistency and improve the quality of life and level of protection for vulnerable people receiving social and health care.
	From April 2002 to April 2004, the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) registered and inspected all care homes and independent hospitals in England and started to extend regulation to other social care services. The Commission for Health Improvement was responsible for assessing the performance of national health service organisations.
	Since April 2004, the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has been responsible for inspecting all registered social care and the Healthcare Commission (HC) has been responsible for inspecting all NHS organisations and independent healthcare.
	In addition, the Mental Health Act Commission is responsible for keeping under review the implementation of the Mental Health Act 1983 as it relates to patients who are detained or are liable to be detained in long-term care settings.
	In light of the Government's continuing commitment to lightening the burden of regulation, from 2008, there are plans to make further improvements through the merger of CSCI and the HC and to have just one inspectorate for all these services.
	Like other businesses outside the health and social care sectors, providers are also subject to other regulators, such as the Health and Safety Executive and the fire service.

Health Scheme Funding

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been spent on or committed to health schemes within each growth area.

Liam Byrne: The most recent round of revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs), covering the period 2006–07 and 2007–08, was announced in February 2005. The Department, in conjunction with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, was able to include an adjustment for the growth area initiative in this round of allocations. The growth area adjustment informs the target position of PCTs within the growth areas. It is the PCTs' target positions that determine their fair shares of the revenue allocations. The table shows the 2006–07 and 2007–08 revenue allocations to those PCTs covered by the growth area initiative.
	
		£000
		
			  Allocation 
			 PCT 2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 Ashford 123,752 137,086 
			 North Hertfordshire and Stevenage 215,870 237,977 
			 Royston, Buntingford and Bishops Stortford 84,170 91,037 
			 South East Hertfordshire 189,518 209,692 
			 Epping Forest 131,877 142,642 
			 Harlow 107,862 116,667 
			 Uttlesford 73,835 81,090 
			 Witham, Braintree and Halstead 150,157 168,321 
			 Cambridge City 148,311 160,403 
			 East Cambridgeshire and Fenland 179,174 203,900 
			 Huntingdonshire 157,561 173,789 
			 North Peterborough 137,445 153,199 
			 South Cambridgeshire 109,152 118,947 
			 South Peterborough 103,668 114,166 
			 Enfield 351,514 384,190 
			 Haringey Teaching 346,339 375,205 
			 City and Hackney Teaching 380,906 416,671 
			 Redbridge 292,512 317,506 
			 Waltham Forest 320,806 347,335 
			 Daventry and South Northamptonshire 104,517 117,732 
			 Northampton 248,117 277,229 
			 Northamptonshire Heartlands 336,254 377,137 
			 Bedford 174,220 192,096 
			 Bedfordshire Heartlands 259,834 291,858 
			 Luton 223,068 247,703 
			 Cherwell Vale 133,313 149,384 
			 Milton Keynes 247,043 277,919 
			 Vale of Aylesbury 207,078 227,618 
			 Basildon 137,269 153,039 
			 Billericay, Brentwood and Wickford 154,036 168,212 
			 Castle Point and Rochford 187,964 207,004 
			 Southend on Sea 217,056 234,771 
			 Thurrock 181,711 204,371 
			 Barking and Dagenham 240,688 267,023 
			 Havering 303,017 331,028 
			 Newham 415,179 454,046 
			 Tower Hamlets 360,074 395,521 
			 Bexley 258,661 281,904 
			 Greenwich Teaching 344,632 372,379 
			 Lewisham 397,785 429,633 
			 Canterbury and Coastal 211,688 231,695 
			 Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley 273,269 298,896 
			 Medway 304,301 340,701 
			 Swale 116,872 133,446

Health Service Bodies (Appointments)

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what appointments were made to lead bodies providing services within the national health service for which she is responsible in each year since 1997; and what their (a) role, (b) pay, (c) length of tenure at appointment and (d) previous experience within the (i) public sector and (ii) private sector was in each case.

Liam Byrne: This information is not available centrally.
	However, the Department produced public appointments annual reports up to 2000 and these are available in the Library. These were discontinued from 2001, when the Cabinet Office published reports on public bodies. From February 2005, an on-line public bodies database was launched. This replaces the annual public bodies publication.
	Details of public appointments can be accessed at:
	http://www.publicappointments.gov.uk.

Health Service Expenditure

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of total health service expenditure in each of the last 10 years was spent directly on (a) healthcare, (b) administration and (c) prescriptions, broken down by NHS trust; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. Expenditure on administration and prescriptions within national health service trusts is not recorded separately.
	Total NHS trust expenditure is provided as a proxy for healthcare and has been placed in the Library.
	Data are only available by individual trust for the period 1996–97 to 2003–04.

Hospital Mortality Rates

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the mortality rates in patients in hospitals admitted (a) at the weekend and (b) at other times of the week.

Liam Byrne: No specific assessment has been made. However, data show that deaths as a percentage of all discharges increase from around 2 per cent, on weekdays to around 3.5 per cent. on weekends. This may well be because at weekends there are significantly fewer elective admissions, which proportionately account for a lower number of deaths than emergency admissions.

Independent Sector Treatment Centres

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the same level of training is required for doctors working in independent sector treatment centres as in NHS units.

Liam Byrne: As for all doctors working in the national health service, surgeons working in independent sector treatment centres must be registered with the General Medical Council and, therefore, meet United Kingdom standards.

Independent Sector Treatment Centres

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance her Department issues on circumstances in which (a) conditions and (b) cases should be treated at independent sector treatment centres.

Liam Byrne: The Department commissioned independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) to provide a wide range of locally identified routine elective procedures in order to reduce waiting and extend patient choice. From December this year, patients will be offered a choice of at least four providers at the point of referral from their general practitioner. Where appropriate these choices will include ISTCs.
	Guidance sent to national health service chief executives on delivering choice and "Choose and Book" is available on the Department's website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/LettersAnd Circulars/DearColleagueLetters/DearColleagueLetters Article/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4114963&chk= qG8q3P.

Independent Sector Treatment Centres

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors and (b) nurses employed by private diagnostic and independent sector treatment centres with contracts with the NHS have been found to have worked in the NHS during the preceding six month period.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 July 2005
	Providers of independent sector treatment centres are contractually obliged not to employ or engage health care professionals who have been employed in a clinical capacity in the national health service within the preceding six-month period.
	A process is in place by which an independent sector provider or an individual health care professional may apply for a waiver of the restriction in relation to a specified person. For further information regarding such waivers, I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Frank Dobson) Official Report, 21 July 2005, column 2177W.

Independent Sector Treatment Centres

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effects of the development and use of independent treatment centres on waiting lists.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 July 2005
	Independent sector treatment centres are a fundamental part of our strategy to increase the amount of capacity available to treat national health service patients and have made a significant contribution to reducing waiting lists to the lowest level since records began. Over 55,000 patients have been seen to date, helping for example, waiting times for cataract surgery to fall from nine months to no more than 12 weeks.

Junior Doctors

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what timescale she has set for extending the pilots for junior doctors training in independent sector treatment centres to all parts of the country;
	(2)  if she will list the locations of the pilots for junior doctors training in independent sector treatment centres.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 18 July 2005
	All independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs), which are involved in transferred national health service activity, will be required to provide training. Each of these ISTCs will form pilot sites. The locations of the current sites contracted to deliver training are Burton, Nottingham, Maidstone, London, and Brighton. Burton will be the first site to deliver training. Full service commencement is scheduled for May 2006, with an interim solution planned for November 2005.

Management Consultants

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which five management consultancies received the highest value of contracts awarded by her Department in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of the contracts awarded to each.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	It should also be noted that not all consultancy contracts are awarded for financial gains; many are awarded for investigating problems, providing analysis or advice, or assisting with the development of new systems, new structures or new capabilities within the organisation.

Management Consultants

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the total expenditure saved in each of the last three years as a result of implementing recommendations by management consultancies within her Department.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	It should also be noted that not all consultancy contracts are awarded for the purpose of saving expenditure, many are awarded for investigating problems, providing analysis or advice, or assisting with the development of new systems, new structures or new capabilities within the organisation.

Maternity Services

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new guidance on maternity services will be published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Jane Kennedy: Information about the work currently being undertaken by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is available on its website at www.nice.org.uk/pdf/comp9_gynaepregnancy birth.pdf.
	An outline of planned NICE guidance related to maternity services is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Title Expected date of issue 
		
		
			 Intrapartum care: management and delivery to women in labour February 2007 
			 Post natal care: routine post natal care of recently delivered women and their babies July 2006 
			 Diabetes in pregnancy February 2008 
			 Antenatal and postnatal mental health: clinical management and service guidance February 2007 
			 Guidance for midwives, health visitors, pharmacists and other primary care services to improve the nutrition of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children in low income households. Spring 2007

Mental Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the implications of Delivering Race Equality for the training of (a) psychiatrists and (b) other mental health professionals.

Rosie Winterton: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 18 July 2005, Official Report, column 1467W.

Mesothelioma

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to improve mesothelioma (a) treatment and (b) prevention; and how much funding has been allocated to each in 2005–06.

Rosie Winterton: In 2003, the Department set up the lung cancer and mesothelioma advisory group (LCMAG) to work closely with the voluntary sector and patient and professional groups in order to support the development and delivery of high quality services for lung cancer patients.
	In 2004, a mesothelioma subgroup was set up to advise LCMAG specifically on the requirements for a good clinical service for mesothelioma, and on priorities for research. The work of this subgroup is still progressing.
	Information on the costs of preventing and treating individual tumours is not collected centrally. Latest information indicates that nearly £3.4 billion was spent by primary care trusts in the financial year 2003–04 on treating all cancers.

Methadone

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the level of abuse of methadone.

Caroline Flint: There have been no formal assessments made on the level of abuse of methadone. However, the Department recognises the key role that effective substitute prescribing has to play in meeting our overall aim of offering high quality treatment to drug misusers. It is because of this commitment that the Department published Drug Misuse and Dependence—Guidelines on Clinical Management (1999), which is widely regarded as being extremely successful in assisting prescribers in offering appropriate treatment to their patients. Part of this also tackles the issue of diversion of methadone through advice on supervised consumption.
	Building on this, the National Treatment Agency (NTA), which has a remit to improve the availability and quality of drug treatment, has just completed an audit of prescribing services in England which will be available shortly. The NTA will also be undertaking series of reviews of community prescribing services with the Healthcare Commission, later in 2005. The NTA has performance management structures in place to effectively tackle those drug action teams assessed as underperforming, as far as provision of drug treatment is concerned.
	One of the key measures used to assess the quality of substitute prescribing, including levels of diversion, is the number of drug related deaths associated with its use. In 2003, the latest year for which figures are available, 167 deaths associated with the use of methadone were reported. This compares with 286 in 1999, a reduction of 42 per cent.
	As part of our ongoing commitment to continue to develop improved practise in substitute prescribing, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will, within a comprehensive package of work that it will be undertaking on drug treatment, do a specific appraisal on the clinical effectiveness of methadone in the treatment of drug misuse.

Mifepristone/Misoprostol

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department was consulted by the World Health Organisation on putting (a) mifepristone and (b) misoprostol on its list of essential medicines; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: It is not standard practice for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to consult member states about the compilation of the list of essential medicines. The WHO has an expert scientific advisory committee, which provides advice on maintaining and developing its list of essential medicines. It was through this process that mifepristone and misoprostol for use in medical abortion were included on the list It is for individual countries as to whether these medicines are authorised for supply. In the United Kingdom, these products have been authorised for use (on the basis of efficacy, safety and quality) by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority.

Ministerial Meetings

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings she has had with groups representing (a) patients and consumers and (b) health professionals since 5 May; and how many are planned for the next three months.

Jane Kennedy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and the Department's Ministers meet many individuals and organisations and attend many functions relating to Government business and as part of the process of policy development.

MRI Scans

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer of 12 July 2005, Official Report, column 685, on MRI scans, what the evidential basis is for her statement that University Hospital of North Durham will need to use its capacity to the full well before 2008.

Liam Byrne: By 2007–08, we plan to deliver an unparalleled expansion in most diagnostic services to reduce waiting time for patients further. Most of this expansion will be delivered through increasing investment and productivity in the national health service, using the record levels of NHS funding for the next three years and making the best use of existing equipment and facilities. These plans are based on understanding and meeting local needs for diagnostic services, which have been developed through working closely with local health communities to understand their needs for extra capacity. While the independent sector has a key part to play, NHS providers of diagnostics services also need to ensure that they are using their diagnostic capacity to the full.

Multiple Sclerosis

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) parliamentary questions have been tabled and (b) letters she has received from hon. Members on the use of Aimspro for the treatment of multiple sclerosis in this Parliament.

Jane Kennedy: In the current parliamentary session, the only questions tabled are those from the hon. Gentleman himself.
	An estimated 40 letters have been received by Members in this Parliament.

NHS (IT System Compatibility)

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that IT systems in the NHS in England holding information on Welsh patients are compatible with IT systems being developed for the NHS in Wales.

Liam Byrne: The definition of information technology standards and systems for the national health service in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Assembly. However, we recognise the importance of close co-operation and liaison between the four home countries to ensure alignment of their respective strategies and eventual interoperability of systems. This is achieved through dialogue at working level between officials from both Administrations. Standards for NHS IT systems in England are mandated by the NHS Information Standards Board, on which NHS Wales, along with the other home countries, is represented.

NHS Direct

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average monthly running costs of NHS Direct were in each year since its inception; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many cases have been dealt with by NHS Direct; how many calls have been abandoned; how many call centres are operational; where each centre is located; what the running costs of each call centre were in each year since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: NHS Direct has handled over 29 million patient episodes since the service was launched in March 1998. NHS Direct has an abandonment of calls rate of approximately 10 per cent.
	22 NHS Direct sites are operational. The funding allocations for each of the 22 sites and their locations are shown in the following table.
	
		£
		
			  Revenue 
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Anglia — — 1,372,000 3,228,000 3,542,000 3,615,000 
			 Avon — — 1,372,000 3,506,000 4,465,000 4,543,000 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire — 2,447,000 3,209,000 3,154,000 3,580,000 3,731,000 
			 East Midlands 292,000 3,245,000 4,187,000 5,305,000 5,606,000 6,327,000 
			 East Yorkshire 198,000 1,691,000 2,025,000 3,423,000 3,580,000 3,759,000 
			 Essex 291,000 1,671,000 3,790,OOOJ 3,634,000 3,815,000 3,998,000 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 749,000 2,558,000 3,228,000 4,067,000 4,384,000 5,023,000 
			 Kent Surrey Sussex — 1,561,000 4,675,000 4,612,000 5,560,000 4,783,000 
			 Lancashire 486,000 1,822,000 3,142,000 4,472,000 4,976,000 5,217,000 
			 Manchester 330,000 4,700,000 4,665,000 6,079,000 6,137,000 6,018,000 
			 Midland Shires — — 1,698,000 3,414,000 4,073,000 3,977,000 
			 N C London — — 1,218,000 2,949,000 3,121,080 3,105,000 
			 N E London — — 960,000 2,349,000 2,370,000 2,067,000 
			 North East 317,000 3,846,000 4,851,000 4,520,000 4,693,000 4,849,000 
			 S E London 404,000 1,918,000 2,328,000 3,248,000 3,316,000 3,480,000 
			 S W London — 2,000,000 2,217,000 2,660,000 2,620,000 2,691,000 
			 South Yorkshire and South Humber — 1,565,000 2,788,000 3,080,000 3,150,000 3,276,000 
			 Thames Valley and Northants 909,000 1,972,000 3,473,000 3,740,000 4,028,000 4,178,000 
			 W London 477,000 2,380,000 4,086,000 4,139,000 4,196,000 3,892,000 
			 West Country 1,190,000 5,040,000 4,182,000 4,343,000 4,720,000 4,955,000 
			 West Midlands 941,000 2,194,000 3,546,000 3,710,000 4,041,000 4,238,000 
			 West Yorkshire 1,142,000 3,462,000 4,418,000 4,600,000 4,949,000 5,196,000 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health.
	The average monthly funding allocations to NHS Direct since its inception are shown in the following table.
	
		£ million
		
			  Average monthly funding allocations 
		
		
			 1998–99 1.1 
			 1999–2000 4.5 
			 2000–01 7.5 
			 2001–02 9.1 
			 2002–03 10.3 
			 2003–04 10.1

NHS Direct

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average call-back time for NHS Direct was in each month since the service was founded.

Liam Byrne: Calls requiring an emergency service are directly transferred to the ambulance service. Calls of an urgent nature are transferred to the next available nurse for clinical assessment. 97 per cent. of all urgent calls start clinical assessment with call-back from a nurse within 20 minutes, in line with the national out-of-hours quality requirements.
	I understand from the chair of NHS Direct that average call-back time for all calls to NHS Direct is not available for all months since the service began. However, the average time between patients contacting NHS Direct and starting clinical assessment with a NHS Direct nurse since April 2005 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Month Average time to start clinical assessment in minutes 
		
		
			 April 2005 30.5 
			 May 2005 30.7 
			 June 2005 29.4 
			 July 2005 29.2

NHS Direct

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls have been made to NHS Direct in each month since May 2004.

Liam Byrne: I understand from the chair of NHS Direct that the number of calls answered by NHS Direct each month since May 2004 are as shown in the table.
	
		
			 Month Total calls answered 
		
		
			 May 2004 554,454 
			 June 2004 497,347 
			 July 2004 526,320 
			 August 2004 530,191 
			 September 2004 493,979 
			 October 2004 536,500 
			 November 2004 536,052 
			 December 2004 615,693 
			 January 2005 619,178 
			 February 2005 519,160 
			 March 2005 612,743 
			 April 2005 558,860 
			 May 2005 593,367

NHS Direct

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to improve patient access to NHS Direct; what assessment she has made of the average number of calls a patient must make to be successfully connected to an NHS Direct operator; and if she will make a statement on the integration of NHS Direct with the GP out-of-hours service.

Liam Byrne: NHS Direct now provides multi-media access to healthcare. I understand from the Chairman of NHS Direct that the number of calls to NHS Direct has increased from 110,000 in 1998–99 to over 29 million by 2004–05. In addition, there are now more than one million visitors each month to the online service. The NHS Direct self help guide is also available to 19 million households through the Thomson local directory. NHS Direct also provides access to healthcare through digital television and this will be extended to include cable and freeview throughout this year.
	Patients speak to an NHS Direct operator as soon as they are connected to NHS Direct. However, in June 2005, 10 per cent. of calls made to NHS Direct were not connected to NHS Direct as the caller abandoned the call. There are no data available to assess the reasons for abandonment or how many patients subsequently call again.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) may choose to commission NHS Direct to provide general practice out-of hours call handling or nurse assessment. NHS Direct is currently involved in 45 out-of hours clinical integration schemes involving 99 PCTs across the country.

NHS Direct

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints were received regarding the service provided by NHS Direct in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by type.

Liam Byrne: I understand from the chair of NHS Direct that, during the year April 2004 to March 2005, NHS Direct answered 6,584,000 calls. From these calls, NHS Direct received 1,469 complaints. Of these complaints, 1,128 were able to be resolved locally and 341 required further escalation.
	Following investigation, 153 of the complaints were upheld. This represents approximately 0.002 per cent. of the total calls answered.
	Information regarding the type of complaint is not centrally available.

NHS Direct

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what performance indices are used to assess NHS Direct; and what estimate she has made of the average length of time between a person first calling NHS Direct and an operator calling them back in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: NHS Direct is assessed against the "National Quality Requirements in the Delivery of Out-of-Hours Services", in relation to telephone and clinical assessment, which was published by the Department in October 2004 and is available on the Department's website at:
	http//www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/12/15/04091215.pdf
	The average call back time for calls to NHS Direct over the last six months was 32 minutes from the time of receipt of the patient's call.

NHS Estates

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons NHS Estates was not dissolved on 1 April, as envisaged in the Department's Implementation Framework for reconfiguring the DH arm's length bodies; and what further slippage is expected in implementing the results of the review.

Jane Kennedy: We are on course to achieve the main arm's length bodies (ALB) review objectives by April 2008, including a reduction in the number of ALBs from 38 to no more than 20. There have been some alterations to the timing of a small number of the major organisational changes contributing to the achievement of those objectives.
	NHS Estates will now be dissolved by 30 September 2005. The extra six months will ensure a smooth transfer of certain core functions to future host organisations. The new timetable has not affected the achievement of savings.
	The merger of the National Biological Standards Board (NBSB) and the Health Protection Agency (HPA) requires primary legislation. The time scale for this legislation means that the merger of NBSB and HPA will now take place by April 2008, instead of the provisional date of 1 April 2006.
	The merger of the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Healthcare Commission, announced in the last Budget speech, will take place following a wider review of regulation in health and social care. We have now decided that the Mental Health Act Commission will merge with the new body once it is created. The new body, which will also require primary legislation, will be created no later than April 2008.
	It is envisaged that the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health will be abolished in summer 2007, subject to legislation. The extra year will allow for a review of patient and public involvement, which will be carried out in parallel with the out-of-hospital care consultation, the subsequent White Paper and the review of primary care trusts.
	The national health service Business Services Authority (BSA) will be created on schedule on 1 October 2005. The constituent bodies that will merge to form the BSA will not be dissolved until April 2006, ensuring that business continuity is not compromised.

NHS Walk-in Centres (Essex)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to develop NHS walk-in centres in Essex.

Liam Byrne: The development of national health service walk-in centres is a matter for local health communities. We are, however, keen to see more such centres and are supporting this with an investment of £50 million over the three years to 2006.

NICE

Dai Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will review the process by which (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts make decisions on funding for treatments not approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence;
	(2)  if she will commission research into how effective HSC 1990/176 has been in providing clear guidance to NHS bodies on the use of treatments not approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what measures her Department has in place to monitor the compliance of (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts with the requirements of HSC 1999/176 in relation to the funding of treatments not approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Jane Kennedy: In 1999, the Department issued Health Service Circular (HSC) 1999/176, which asks national health service bodies to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has not yet been issued. These arrangements should include an assessment of the available evidence. Compliance with HSC 1999/176 is the responsibility of strategic health authorities.
	There are no plans to commission research into the effectiveness of HSC 1999/176. HSC 1990/176 does not exist.

Nurses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of state-registered nurse training is allocated to dealing with termination of pregnancy; whether nurses are allowed to opt out of abortion training under section 4 of the Abortion Act 1967; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: It is for the education providers and their partners locally to determine the detailed learning outcomes for each programme, including the amount of time spent on different aspects of the curriculum, such as termination of pregnancy, what is required to be demonstrated in theory and/or practice and how this is assessed.
	The preparation of nursing students is closely aligned to the Code of Professional Conduct and nursing students would be able to object conscientiously to participating in a termination of pregnancy. Education providers should take adequate measures to ensure that nursing students are aware of their rights and are supported in making decisions.
	Students equally have a responsibility to make their supervisors aware of their objections if asked to participate in the care of a woman undergoing such treatment. They also need to be helped to understand that as registrants they will always have a duty of care to all patients irrespective of the treatment they are receiving.

Nurses

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses on average staffed an intensive care bed for (a) adults, (b) children and (c) new born or premature babies in the last period for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Obesity

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were classified as obese in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: Figures from the Health Survey for England are shown in the table, although not exactly in the form requested. Figures for the north east are given by the north east Government office region (GOR). No figures are available for the Jarrow constituency or South Tyneside. Although figures are requested for the United Kingdom, information in respect of obesity prevalence in Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the devolved administrations. While the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland office.
	
		Obesity prevalence among children in the north east and in England
		
			  North east GOR England 
			  Boys Girls Boys Girls 
		
		
			 Children classed as obese as a proportion of the total sample (percentage) 
			 1998 
			 1999–2000 13.6 14.0 12.9 13.2 
			 2001 15.5 9.1 16.0 14.0 
			 2002 17.2 13.9 15.5 14.6 
			 2003 21.6 21.3 16.9 17.1 
			  16.4 16.5 16.9 16.0 
			 Number of children surveyed 
			 1998 92 93 1,735 1,642 
			 1999–2000 119 91 1,720 1,635 
			 2001 140 118 1,700 1,748 
			 2002 221 218 3,698 3,621 
			 2003 86 80 1,417 1,416 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Aged 2–15 with a valid body mass index (BMI) measurement. UK National BMI percentile classification used to classify obesity in children.
	2. Figures prior to 1998 are not available by Government office region
	3. Data are age-standardised to the mid year 2003 population estimates.
	Source:
	Health Survey for England

Obesity

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the progress being made on the new General Medical Services Contract in relation to tackling obesity.

Liam Byrne: The quality and outcomes framework is currently being reviewed by all parties as part of the new general medical services contract negotiations led by NHS Employers. The Department has submitted proposals for new indicators on obesity for the expert panel's consideration as part of this process.

Parliamentary Questions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to Question reference 9440 tabled by the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him today.

Patient Choice

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost of offering patients a choice of hospitals by the end of 2008.

Liam Byrne: The National Audit Office's report, "Patient Choice at the Point of Referral", published in January 2005, accepted our estimate of £122 million for the likely additional annual infrastructure costs and transaction costs for patient choice. The total spend on elective care in 2003–04 was £8.7 billion.
	Choice will lead to increased efficiencies in both primary and secondary as described in the National Audit Office's report. In hospitals, these efficiencies should include reductions in missed appointments and cancellations, meaning clinics can be run more efficiently. The cost of these in 2003–04 was approximately £100 million for the 1.5 million missed first out-patient appointments that are most likely to be addressed by choice.

Patient Choice

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of overcapacity in health services she expects to fund consequent on the patients' choice agenda; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: It is the responsibility of strategic health authorities to plan and develop sufficient capacity to ensure that the public sector agreement targets are achieved.
	Only activity that is undertaken will be funded by primary care trusts.

Patients Forums

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what policy considerations underlay the decision not to allow patients forums to elect their own chairs.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 12 July 2005
	The current arrangements, which allow patient forums to elect their own chairs, will remain in place.
	The Commission will continue to carry out appointments to forums and arrange staff support. The plans to give the national health service appointments commission additional responsibilities to appoint members and chairs of patient forums will not go ahead.

Patients Forums

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what arrangements will be put in place to ensure effective patient involvement in service planning within Essex Ambulance Trust when the existing patient forum is abolished;
	(2)  what arrangements will be put in place after the abolition of the Essex Ambulance Service Patient and Public Involvement Forum to assist patients' representatives (a) to share information and (b) effectively to monitor ambulance services.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 18 July 2005
	With the recent announcement of plans to reconfigure primary care trusts (PCTs), the planned reconfiguration of forums around PCTs has been put on hold.
	The "Your Health, Your Care, Your Say" consultation presents us with the opportunity to take a strategic look at patient and public involvement. This will ensure that future systems for patient, user and carer involvement will best fit the nature of modern health and social care delivery.

Personal Social Services Expenditure

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of personal social services expenditure by each local authority in England has been in each year since 1997; and what the percentage variation against standard spending assessment is in each case.

Liam Byrne: The information requested from 1998–99 to 2003–04 has been placed in the Library.

Physiotherapy

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that the increase in the number of training places for physiotherapists is matched by funding for physiotherapy posts in the NHS.

Liam Byrne: It is the responsibility of local national health service employers and strategic health authorities (SHAs) to ensure there are sufficient suitable staff in place to deliver services for patients.
	The Department, in collaboration with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists, SHAs and NHS physiotherapy managers, has developed an action plan to address current concerns over the number of junior posts available for newly qualified physiotherapists.

Private Health Care

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list each of the private sector providers providing services to NHS patients, giving in each case (a) the name of the organisation, (b) the location of its clinical premises, (c) the number of operations contracted for and (d) the number of operations so far carried out.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 11 July 2005
	Information on independent sector providers with which the Department has contracts has been placed in the Library. Information on contracts with the independent sector agreed by local national health service commissioners is not collected centrally.

Prostate Cancer

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the basis for the target published in her article in The Guardian newspaper on Saturday 2 July of 10 per cent. of routine elective surgery being carried out by independent sector treatment centres by 2008.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 7 July 2005
	There is no target for independent sector provision or use. The figure of 10 per cent. referred to by the Secretary of State is based on the value of the announced national procurements of independent sector treatment for patients requiring elective surgery, and the forecast levels of national health service elective activity in 2008.

Social Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many agencies recruiting nurses are registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

Liam Byrne: I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that, as at 3 August 2005, there are 910 nursing agencies registered with CSCI.

Social Work

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will undertake a review of social work along the lines of the review commissioned by the Scottish Executive.

Liam Byrne: On 21July 2005, I announced a review of the social care work force. The review will be jointly undertaken with the Department for Education and Skills and is expected to include a review of social work as a key professional group in both the adult social care and children's services work forces.

Special Advisers

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list (a) the special advisers in her Department, (b) their specific areas of expertise and (c) the total cost of employing them in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 4 July 2005, Official Report, column 36W.

Strokes (Early Signs)

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance is provided by her Department to (a) patients and (b) general practitioners on the early signs of stroke, with particular reference to transient ischaemic attacks;
	(2)  what steps her Department is taking to encourage general practitioners to refer patients for specialist assessment following transient ischaemic attacks.

Liam Byrne: The Department works with a broad range of organisations and professional bodies to ensure that appropriate guidance is provided to both patients and healthcare professionals.
	The national service framework (NSF) for older people states that risk factors for each patient who is at risk of a stroke or who is recovering from a stroke should be identified and advice, support and treatment provided as appropriate. Both primary and secondary prevention measures should be in line with appropriate clinical guidelines. The NSF makes it clear that patients with a suspected transient ischaemic attacks should be referred urgently to a rapid response neurovascular clinic, managed by a clinician with expertise in stroke for investigation and treatment.

Student Nurses

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student nurses have started training with the NHS in each of the last four years; and how many have specialised in (a) general nursing, (b) children's nursing and (c) mental health nursing.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Pre-registration nursing training commissions
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 All nursing training commissions 20,610 21,523 22,815 23,377 
			 Of which: 
			 Adult 14,066 14,694 15,846 15,810 
			 Mental health 3,577 3,817 3,866 4,050 
			 Learning disabilities 795 832 865 844 
			 Child 2,172 2,180 2,238 2,229 
		
	
	Source:
	Strategic health authority quarterly monitoring returns.

Treatment Centres

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government has achieved its target of delivering 80 NHS treatment centres by 2005; and what the (a) construction costs, (b) scheduled date for start of construction, (c) expected completion date and (d) status at 31 December 2004 were of each currently identified scheme.

Liam Byrne: There is no formal target of this kind, but to date, 55 treatment centres have opened, treating over 225,000 patients, and plans for further treatment centres to open this year are progressing well.
	Available details for each scheme have been placed in the Library. Data on construction costs, where incurred, and projected start dates for construction are not centrally available. Expected start dates for independent sector treatment centres have not been included, as they are subject to commercial discussions.

Waiting Times

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2005, Official Report, column 749W, on waiting times, for what reasons the agreement of local delivery plans has deviated from the timescale set out in the answer of 27 January 2005, Official Report, column 564W, on waiting times; when she now expects local delivery plans to be agreed; if she plans to publish the local delivery plans; and when she intends to begin publishing waiting times for diagnostic tests.

Liam Byrne: The majority of local delivery plans (LDPs) have now been agreed with strategic health authorities (SHAs). The Department expects the remainder to be agreed by the end of August when outstanding matters have been resolved.
	It is usual practice for SHAs and primary care trusts to publish their LDPs once agreed with the Department.
	The Department is currently piloting data collections to support the 18-week general practitioner referral to start of treatment target. A decision on publication of this data will be taken later.

Waiting Times

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts are meeting the Government target of 18 weeks wait between general practitioner referral and hospital treatment.

Liam Byrne: The Government's target is that, by the end of 2008, no patient will have to wait more than 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to start of hospital treatment. We do not currently collect information on the length of time from GP referral to start of treatment, so it is not yet possible to report on individual organisations' progress towards the target. We will be working with the national health service to introduce new data reporting systems to support delivery of the target set out in the Government's election manifesto.

Ward Inspections

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect that compulsory ward inspections would have on (a) hygiene standards and (b) infection rates in hospitals.

Jane Kennedy: Compulsory inspections of the hospital environment are undertaken every year through the patient environment action team (PEAT) process. This includes inspection of a sample of wards, but goes beyond this to assess a wide range of public and patient areas. The PEAT process is broad and considers more than hygiene standards, but cleanliness, including specific mention of wards, is weighted in the final score in recognition of its importance to patients. In addition to this national programme, many trusts undertake regular local inspections of their wards and other clinical areas.
	Standards for the patient environment have risen since PEAT began in 2000. Then, around a third of hospitals were rated poor or unacceptable. Today, 95 per cent. of national health service trusts are rated as acceptable or better.
	Most scientific evidence stresses hand hygiene and sound clinical practices as being particularly important in preventing healthcare associated infections (HCAIs). It is unlikely that a more stringent environmental inspection regime alone would significantly reduce HCAI rates.

TREASURY

Tax Credits

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list meetings he has attended with (a) the Citizen's Advice Bureau and (b) the Parliamentary Ombudsman to discuss the tax credits system.

Dawn Primarolo: Ministers and officials from HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs regularly meet with interested parties to discuss the tax credits system. These include the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

Tax Credits

George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost of printing tax credit guidance notes was in each year from 1999–2000 to 2004–05.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Tax Credits

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate for each tax credit the value of unclaimed credits, broken down by nation and region of the UK.

Dawn Primarolo: Work to produce final take-up rate estimates for child tax credit and working tax credit for 2003–04 is continuing and HMRC expects this analysis to be completed towards the end of 2005–06. As part of this work we are considering how best to estimate take-up by expenditure and the value of unclaimed tax credits.

Wales White Paper

Peter Law: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how he intends to implement Paragraph 3.12 of the White Paper, "Better governance for Wales" Cm 6582, in respect of any Bill he introduces in the current session of Parliament.

John Healey: I intend to implement the Government's policy as stated in paragraph 3.12 of the White Paper "Better Governance for Wales", Cm 6582, as appropriate. If the need arises, my department will discuss the issues concerned with the Assembly Government.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers (Zimbabwe)

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Zimbabweans have (a) applied for asylum in the UK and (b) been granted asylum in each of the past six months.

Tony McNulty: Information on asylum applications, initial decision outcomes and appeal outcomes for nationals of Zimbabwe are published quarterly and annually. Copies are available from Library and on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.

Correspondence

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter from the hon. Member for New Forest, West of 21 March regarding his deceased former constituent Angela Armes.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 11 July 2005
	I replied to the hon. Member on 16 August 2005.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the target times are for (a) making awards and (b) settling cases by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority; and what the most recent figures are for performance against those targets.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) has a target of issuing an initial decision on 90 per cent. of applications within 12 months of receipt, and of making awards of compensation within 28 days of receiving the claimant's formal acceptance of an offer of award.
	In 2004–05, the percentage of cases where the initial decision was issued within 12 months was 70 per cent., and the percentage of awards made within the 28 day period was 99 per cent.

Identity Cards Bill

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps will be taken to protect victims of (a) domestic violence, (b) rape and (c) sexual abuse from identification by their attackers using the National Identity Register.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 23 June 2005
	In order to protect the security of the proposed Identity Cards Scheme we cannot comment on the specific steps that will be taken to protect the information of these victims on the National Identity Register.
	Direct access to information held on the National Identity Register by anyone outside those responsible for administering the scheme will not be possible, only requests for information can be made by third parties. In the vast majority of cases, verification of information on the Register will only be possible with the person's consent. In cases where information is provided without consent, the Identity Cards Bill strictly limits the occasions when this can occur, limits it to public authorities and allows for regulations that will define how and to whom this information can be provided.

IMPACT

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the business case for the IMPACT programme to be (a) completed and (b) published.

Charles Clarke: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) on 25 July 2005, that an outline business case will be prepared in September. For commercial reasons, business cases are not released until all associated contractual activities are completed.

London Bombings

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the inquiries into the London bombings.

Charles Clarke: I refer my hon. Friend to my statement to the House on 20 July 2005, Official Report, column 1253.

Marketing Testing

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has for further market testing within the Prison Service.

Fiona Mactaggart: Further market testing within the Prison Service will be reviewed in the light of the outcome of the performance improvement test of the three prisons on the Isle of Sheppey.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons exchange of secure e-mails is not possible between the Prison Service, Probation Service, the National Offender Management Service and the remainder of the Criminal Justice System; and when he expects this facility to be available.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 7 July 2005
	National Offender Management Service and the Prison Service have had connection to the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) and therefore secure e-mail for some time. The National Probation Service (NPS) have recently been granted access to the GSI which will increase the number of probation offices able to send and receive secure e-mail.
	All three organisations can, and do, exchange information already now, using their respective networks (GSI and GSX) as well as the secure e-mail facility.
	NOMS and HMPS are members of the GSI community which is accredited to handle material up to and including "RESTRICTED". Currently the NPS is connected to the GSX which is not accredited to handle "RESTRICTED" material. This has placed some restriction on the nature and type of information which can be handled by the NPS electronically.
	However, the NPS application to join the GSI community has recently been approved, meaning that the NPS will soon be able to send information up to and including "RESTRICTED". As a consequence this will mean that more information will be capable of being exchanged between the three organisations.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the bidders for the STEPS 2 replacement programme for the Offender Management National Infrastructure; and when the Department expects to announce the award of the contract.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 7 July 2005
	The bidders that remain in the competition that was originally known as STEPS 2 (and is now known as OMNI) are Fujitsu Services Ltd. and Steria Ltd. The Department expects to announce the award of the contract before the end of September this year.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the decision was made to abandon the STEPS 2 programme; and what the cost of STEPS 2 to the Department is.

Fiona Mactaggart: The STEPS 2 programme has not been abandoned. The programme to procure a successor to the existing IT services provider to the probation service began in 2002. With the announcement of the formation of the National Offender Management Service, this procurement programme (at the time known as STEPS 2) was put on hold until the requirements under the new organisation had become more clearly defined. In October 2004, the programme was resumed from the point at which it was put on hold, under a new name (OMNI) to reflect the change in the requirement. There have therefore been no wasted costs.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will list aspects of the National Offender Management Service that will be implemented within the existing legislative framework;
	(2)  what advice he has received on changes which can be implemented in the Prison Service and the Probation Service by the introduction of the National Offender Management Service without enabling legislation.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 14 July 2005
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) formally came into being on 1 June. A wide range of activities is already under way to support its principal aim of reducing re-offending. For example, an offender management model has been developed which will provide the focus for the implementation of offender management for both community and custodial sentences. A pathfinder in the north-west region has been operational since October 2004. The first evaluation report was published on 30 June 2005, and outlines the value of the north-west's testing of the model. The information gained is being fed into the implementation plans for prison and probation areas. A national offender manager and 10 regional offender managers have also been appointed. The latter will play the main role in commissioning and will help to build partnership working locally. A performance test for prisons on the Isle of Sheppey has been announced and consideration is being given to the best organisational design to support the NOMS reforms.
	The Secretary of State is currently considering advice on what more can be done within the existing framework and where legislation will be needed . [As announced in the Queen's Speech the Government will bring forward legislation to reduce re-offending by improving the management of offenders.]

Parliamentary Questions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to question reference 7215 tabled by the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam.

Hazel Blears: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 September 2005, Official Report, column 2584W.

Prisons

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the nursing establishment is at Endwood Park prison; and how many nurses are employed there.

Fiona Mactaggart: The nursing establishment at HMP Eastwood Park is 37.5 posts, of which 30.5 posts are currently filled.

Terrorist Threat

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his assessment of the level of terrorist threat facing the UK.

Charles Clarke: As I have previously stated, the threat from terrorism remains real and serious, and is a worldwide issue. As we have seen it is not unique to the UK.
	Due to security reasons, it is Government policy not to comment on specific threat levels.
	The threat level is kept under constant review based on the information available. Further information on threats can be found on the Security Service website (www.mi5.gov.uk)

TRANSPORT

Accident Statistics

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many (a) fatal, (b) major and (c) minor accidents have occurred on each direction of the A5 between the A406 and the A407 in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many (a) fatal, (b) major and (c) minor accidents occurred in each direction of the A5 between the A4003 and the A501 in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The Mayor now has overall responsibility for road safety in London.
	The accident statistics requested can be obtained from:
	Chris Lines
	Head of London Road Safety Unit
	Transport for London
	Windsor House
	42–50 Victoria Street
	London SW1H 0TL

Air Traffic

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) percentage and (b) numerical change there has been in night flights at Heathrow Airport in each of the last five years.

Karen Buck: The present night restrictions regime at Heathrow refers to both a night period, 2300–0700 hours, and a night quota period 2330–0600. In the night quota period movements by all types of aircraft, except the very quietest, are restricted by a movements limit and a noise quota, which are set for each season. At Heathrow, the movements limit for each summer season from 2000–04 was 3,250 and for winter 2001–02 to 2004–05 was 2,550. The airport operator may carry over a limited number of movements from one season to the next depending on usage from the previous season.
	The number of movements that counted against the limit, and those by the quietest exempt types, and the percentage change are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Night restrictions season(18) Movements against limit Exempt types Percentage change in movements against limit compared with previous corresponding season 
		
		
			 Summer 2000 3,028 207 — 
			 Winter 2000–01 2,615 93 — 
			 Summer 2001 2,939 94 -2.9 
			 Winter 2001–02 2,684 80 +2.6 
			 Summer 2002 2,937 141 +0.1 
			 Winter 2002–03 2,620 96 -2.4 
			 Summer 2003 2,899 113 -1.3 
			 Winter 2003–04 2,683 76 +2.4 
			 Summer 2004 2,993 105 +3.2 
			 Winter 2004–05 2,591 70 -3.4 
			 Summer 2000—summer 2004 — — -1.2 
			 Winter 2000–01—winter 2004–05 — — -0.9 
		
	
	(18) The seasons change with the clocks.
	Information on night movements given dispensations from the restrictions (i.e. additional to those detailed above) was provided on 11 July 2005, Official Report, column 672W.

Consultants

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list management consultants employed by his Department in each of the last three years.

Derek Twigg: The information requested for DfT(c) and each agency has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many letters to his Department from hon. Members in session (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 remain unanswered, broken down by those which are (i) one month old, (ii) two months old, (iii) three months old, (iv) four months old and (v) over six months old.

Karen Buck: All letters received more than one month before the hon. Member's question have been answered. The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. The Report for 2004 was published on 6 April 2005, Official Report, columns 137–40ws.

Coventry Arena

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the potential development of a railway servicing the new Coventry Arena.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 20 July 2005
	The West Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy was published by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) on 21 July. The Strategy concluded that Coventry Arena station would present low levels of traffic for most of the week with occasional large event demands requiring train capacity far in excess of the current provision. The cost of rail provision to meet these high peaks in demand would be very high. Consequently a proposal to meet this demand had not been evaluated by the promoter and no business case for the station had been received. The SRA concluded that it was unable to support the inclusion of the station on the Coventry-Nuneaton route.
	The SRA wrote to Coventry city council on 24 August 2004 identifying a number of areas of concern with the outline business case. If the council wishes to pursue the proposal, it will need to address those concerns and submit to the Department a viable and funded business case.

Departmental Expenditure

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in the (i) Moray constituency and (ii) Highland region was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Karen Buck: The total spend by the Department in 2004–05 was £546,600. A detailed analysis is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Name of agency Moray Highland region 
		
		
			 Maritime and Coastguard Nil (a) Staff—£88,000 
			  (b) Accommodation—£12,000 
			  (c) Procurement—£1,000 
			
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency(19) (a) Staff—£169,800 
			  (b) Accommodation—£10,900 
			  (c) Procurement—£20,700 
			
			 DVLA(20) (a) Staff—£183,500 
			  (b) Accommodation—£39,300 
			  (c) Procurement—£21.400 
		
	
	(19) VOSA's figures cover the cost of testing activity in the areas/constituencies listed. Much of VOSA's enforcement activity is mobile. The Enforcement Area Northern Scotland cannot be broken down to reflect costs of enforcement in the actual areas/constituencies concerned. The figures for this area are:
	(a) Staff—£601,600
	(b) Accommodation—£3,200
	(c) Procurement—£125,900
	Expenditure on costs which are financed centrally (major works, testing equipment, vehicles, electricity and workwear) are not included in VOSA's figures as they could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	(20) The Inverness DVLA Local Office includes the Moray and Highland Region in its catchment area.
	Information on regional distribution of staff at 1 April 2004 is available in the Libraries of both Houses, and also at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management information/ statistical information/statistics/contents for civil service statistics 2004 report/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution.
	Figures relating to 1 April 2005 will be published next year.

Departmental Expenditure

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in (i) Dundee, East constituency, (ii) Tayside and (iii) the City of Dundee was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Karen Buck: The total spend by the Department in 2004–05 was £364,200. A detailed analysis is shown in the following table.
	
		£
		
			 Name of agency Dundee, East Tayside City of Dundee 
		
		
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency(21) 0 0 0 
			 DVLA(22) (a) Staff—281,000 
			  (b) Accommodation—57,400 
			  (c) Procurement—25,800 
		
	
	(21) Much of VOSA's enforcement activity is mobile. The Enforcement Area Northern Scotland cannot be broken down to reflect costs of enforcement in the actual areas/constituencies concerned. The figures for this area are:
	(a) Staff £601,600
	(b) Accommodation £3,200
	(c) Procurement £125,900
	Expenditure on costs which are financed centrally (major works, testing equipment, vehicles, electricity and work wear) are not included in VOSA's figures as they could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	(22) The Dundee DVLA Local Office includes Dundee, Tayside, Perth and North Perthshire in its catchment area. It is not therefore possible to provide separate costs.
	Information on regional distribution of staff at 1 April 2004 is available in the Libraries of both Houses, and also at, http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_ information/statistical_information/statistics/contents for civil service_statistics 2004_report/index.asp.
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution.
	Figures relating to 1 April 2005 will be published next year.

Departmental Expenditure

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in (i) Banff and Buchan and (ii) the North East of Scotland was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Karen Buck: The total spend by the Department in 2004–05 was £3.3 million. A detailed analysis is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Name of Agency Banff and Buchan North-East Scotland 
		
		
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency(23) (a) Staff—£256,800 Nil 
			  (b) Accommodation—£9,800  
			  (c) Procurement—£21,200  
			
			 DVLA(24) (a) Staff—£304,8 
			  (b) Accommodation—£74,3 
			  (c) Procurement—£25,3 
			
			 Maritime and Coastguard(25) (a) Staff—£58,000 (a) Staff—£2.1 million 
			  (b) Accommodation—£9,000 (b) Accommodation—£355,000 
			  (c) Procurement—£1,000 (c) Procurement—£40,000 
		
	
	(23) VOSA's figures cover the cost of testing activity in the areas/constituencies listed. Much of VOSA's enforcement activity is mobile. The Enforcement Area Northern Scotland cannot be broken down to reflect costs of enforcement in the actual areas/constituencies concerned. The figures for this area are:
	(a) Staff—£601,600
	(b) Accommodation—£3,200
	(c) Procurement—£125,9000
	Expenditure on costs which are financed centrally (major works, testing equipment, vehicles, electricity and workwear) are not included in VOSA's figures as they could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	(24) Banff and Buchan and the North East of Scotland are covered by the Aberdeen DVLA Local Office.
	(25) The figure for the North East of Scotland is significantly higher than the others provided by MCA because this area contains a regional office, marine office and coastguard station.
	Information on regional distribution of staff at 1 April 2004 is available in the Libraries of both Houses, and also at, http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management information/statisticalinformation/statistics/contents for civil service statistics 2004 re port/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution.
	Figures relating to 1 April 2005 will be published next year.

Departmental Expenditure

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total spending by his Department on (a) staff, (b) accommodation and (c) procurement in Perth and North Perthshire was for the most recent year for which figures are available.

Karen Buck: The total spend by the Department in 2004–05 was £631,3000. A detailed analysis is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Name of Agency Perth North Perthshire 
		
		
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency(26) (a) Staff—£167,400 
			  (b) Accommodation—£11,500 
			  (c) Procurement—£14,200 
			
			 DVLA(27) (a) Staff—£281,000 
			  (b) Accommodation—£57,400 
			  (c) Procurement £25,800 
			   
			 Driving Standards Agency(28) (a) Staff—£59,100 
			  (b) Accommodation—£11,100 
			  (c) Procurement—£3,800 
		
	
	(26) VOSA's figures cover the cost of testing activity in the areas/constituencies listed. Much of VOSA's enforcement activity is mobile. The Enforcement Area Northern Scotland cannot be broken down to reflect costs of enforcement in the actual areas/constituencies concerned. The figures for this area are:
	(a) Staff—£601,600
	(b) Accommodation—£3,200
	(c) Procurement £125,900
	Expenditure on costs which are financed centrally (major works, testing equipment, vehicles, electricity and workwear) are not included in VOSA's figures as they could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	(27) The Dundee DVLA Local Office includes Dundee, Tayside, Perth and North Perthshire in its catchment area.
	(28) DSA's figures cover three offices (Perth, Perth LGV and Crieff).
	Information on regional distribution of staff at 1 April 2004 is available in the Libraries of both Houses, and also at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/manaqement information/ statistical information/statistics/contents for civil service statistics 2004 report/index.asp
	Table D shows the numbers of staff by regional distribution.
	Figures relating to 1 April 2005 will be published next year.

Driving Tests

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) passes and (b) failures of motor car driving tests there were in each test centre in (i) Essex and (ii) the Metropolitan Police area of London in (A) 1990, (B) 1995 and (C) each year since 1999.

Stephen Ladyman: Tables showing the results of practical car driving tests conducted at test centres in Essex and within the Metropolitan Police area of London from 1999 have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) does not hold pass rates by driving test centres for 1990 and 1995.

Freedom of Information

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests have been answered by the Department; and in how many cases (a) information was wholly exempted, (b) information was partly exempted and (c) the requests were answered in full.

Karen Buck: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend, the Minister of State for Constitutional Affairs on 28 July 2005, Official Report, column 2248W.

Management Consultancies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which five management consultancies received the highest value of contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last three years; and what the total value was of the contracts awarded to each.

Karen Buck: Details of top five external consultants and advisers used by the Department in each of the last three years are shown in the following table. Separate figures for management consultancy are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Supplier Value of contracts (£) 
		
		
			 2002–03  
			 Lovells 65,000,000 
			 Hyder 13,472,801 
			 Salomon Brothers Int. Ltd. 12,842,062 
			 Atkins 12,575,706 
			 Mott MacDonald 11,128,019 
			   
			 2003–04  
			 Mott MacDonald 14,049,491 
			 Atkins 5,704,901 
			 Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. 5,302,184 
			 Hyder 4,773,717 
			 Mouchel Parkman 3,904,283 
			 2004–05  
			 Atos Origin IT Services UK Ltd. 10,387,260 
			 Mott MacDonald 8,234,813 
			 Atkins 6,780,484 
			 PA Consulting Group 4,829,344 
			 Parsons Brinckerhoff 4,769,409

Opinion Surveys

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) subject matter and (b) dates were of opinion survey research undertaken by the Department and its agencies in the last 12 months; if he will place copies of the results of each survey in the Library; which companies were used in conducting the research; and how much each was paid.

Karen Buck: A list of public opinion surveys undertaken by the Department, agencies and non-departmental bodies in 2004–05 is provided in a table, which has been placed in the Libraries of the House. The table provides details of regular quantitative surveys and surveys of a more ad hoc nature. Details concerning subject matter, costs, survey contractors and information about where findings can be obtained are provided in the table.

Public Transport (Work Force Skills)

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what work has been undertaken to promote the increase in skill base of the workforce in the (a) rail, (b) aviation, (c) maritime and (d) bus and coach sectors.

Stephen Ladyman: For rail, the rail industry is currently developing proposals for an industry-led forum to be formed, which brings together representatives across the industry to set the strategic direction of skills and act as a repository of knowledge on the skills agenda.
	"The Future of Air Transport" advocated the establishment of centres of excellence in civil aircraft engineering and training at regional airports. The industry is working up a number of proposals for such facilities. In addition, the European Union has just agreed a common air traffic controller licence which harmonises training and licensing requirements and enables mutual recognition of licenses across Europe for the first time.
	The Support for Maritime Training scheme (SMarT) has been running since April 1998 and provides support for the training of officers and ratings. The current budget is £9.4 million per annum.
	In the bus and coach industry, as well as other parts of the passenger transport sector, a Sector Skills Council for Passenger Transport (Go Skills) has been established to assist with meeting skill requirements. The Department has announced funding of £0.75 million over the period 2005–06 to 2007–08 in support of Go Skills' work and the Bus Partnership Forum has recently established a Task and Finish Group on Recruitment and Retention. The group will consider and make recommendations on skills and training issues.

Ragwort

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will ask the Highways Agency to control ragwort on the A417 and M5 motorway.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency takes a proactive approach to the control of injurious weeds such as ragwort. Priority is given to the control of ragwort on highway land which is near to agricultural or grazing land. The Highways Agency is currently implementing a ragwort control programme on the A417 and the M5 motorway. Control techniques include: selective spraying of identified plants, mowing to inhibit growth prior to flowering, and pulling up and burning flowering plants prior to seeding.

Railways

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of his departmental budget was spent on light rail in 2004–05; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Darling: Spending on light rail varies from year to year according to the progress of schemes. Since the opening of Tyne and Wear Metro in 1980, Government have contributed some £1.2 billion towards light rail schemes, including around £0.7 billion since 1997.
	In 2004–05 the Department provided £36 million to directly support light rail schemes outside London. This represents 0.3 per cent. of its Departmental budget.
	The Department does not directly fund light rail in London, therefore it is not possible to calculate precisely the percentage of the Departmental budget that is spent on light rail when taking London schemes into account.
	Transport for London—which receives approximately 45 per cent. of its income from grant provided by the Department—spent £59 million on London light rail lines (including DLR, but excluding the tube).
	Assuming 45 per cent. of the costs for light rail in London were met by Departmental funding, the overall percentage for spend on light rail in 2004–05 would be 0.5 per cent.

Road Charging

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on what method he plans to use for road charging for lorries as part of his wider national road pricing policy; and what steps he intends to take to ensure that the method of charging takes account of the costs of the effects of lorries on (a) the road network and (b) the wider environment.

Stephen Ladyman: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced to the House on 5 July that we will take forward work on distance-based lorry charging as part of our wider work on road pricing—to work for a single, comprehensive, cost-effective system. That work will include a detailed examination of technical options. We will ensure that the lessons learned during the Lorry Road User Charge project are taken into account as we take this work forward.

Road Traffic Accidents/Statistics

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2005, Official Report, columns 1052–56W, on road traffic accidents/statistics, if he will place in the Library equivalent information for Highways Agency road schemes not included in the tables provided.

Stephen Ladyman: A table has been placed in the Libraries of the House showing road traffic accidents and flows for the Highways Agency Targeted Programme of Improvement (TPI) road schemes where data is available. Information on local network management schemes managed by the Agency could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Sir Rod Eddington

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the work programme of Sir Rod Eddington is; and what (a) reports and (b) findings he has made.

Stephen Ladyman: The Secretary of State and the Chancellor have invited Sir Rod Eddington to work with the Department for Transport and HMT Treasury to advise on the long-term impact of transport decisions on the UK's productivity, stability and growth. This work continues.

Sir Rod Eddington

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants are supporting Sir Rod Eddington for the duration of his employment; and where they are located.

Stephen Ladyman: Sir Rod Eddington is supported by a small team of civil servants (currently seven), located in both the Department for Transport and the Treasury.

Speed Cameras

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the (a) number and (b) location of fixed speed cameras which have been installed in each month since January 2004; and what the casualty rates were (a) before and (b) after installation in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The following number of fixed safety cameras were installed in England and Wales within the national safety camera programme in each month between January and December 2004. Casualty information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		Number of fixed safety cameras installed by month in 2004
		
			  
		
		
			 January 2004 13 
			 February 2004 24 
			 March 2004 50 
			 April 2004 36 
			 May 2004 5 
			 June 2004 13 
			 July 2004 7 
			 August 2004 17 
			 September 2004 12 
			 October 2004 19 
			 November 2004 13 
			 December 2004 8

Speed Cameras

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications for speed camera sites have been made where a final decision on whether installation will be allowed remains pending; and in which locations.

Stephen Ladyman: There are a total of 489 new safety camera sites proposed for 2005–06 in England and Wales. The Department has decided that we will not for the time being approve these proposed sites pending an independent analysis of the first four years of the programme and an examination of how we might further improve the deployment criteria and programme governance arrangements. We expect to make a decision this autumn. Pending this decision, mobile enforcement may be undertaken at those sites where there is an urgent need. Information on the location of these sites, broken down by fixed and mobile cameras has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Speed Cameras

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the review of rules regarding the location of speed cameras will be completed.

Stephen Ladyman: I expect that it will be completed this autumn.

Speed Cameras

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many proposals for speed cameras in Cambridgeshire have been (a) approved and (b) rejected by his Department in each year since 1997; and what their location was in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The Cambridgeshire Safety Camera Partnership joined the national safety camera programme in October 2001—the Department does not hold information prior to this date. Information on the location and year of approval for all safety cameras approved for operation by the Cambridgeshire Safety Camera Partnership since then is attached. The approval process is based on published standardised criteria. We do not hold information on proposed sites that did meet the criteria but were not introduced into the programme subsequently.

Speed Cameras

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been raised in fines from speed cameras in the county of Essex since 1999.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 13 June 2005 Official Report, column 28W which provided this information for the Essex police force area. Data by county is not available.

Tidal Flow Schemes

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to make greater use of tidal flow schemes to manage congestion; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will incentivise local authorities to develop tidal flow highway schemes by making grants available in appropriate cases.

Stephen Ladyman: Tidal flow is a traffic management technique available to local highway authorities to use where local circumstances mean it is likely to produce benefits. Authorities can implement tidal flow schemes using established traffic management practices and need no special approval from the Department.
	We would expect to see tidal flow schemes accommodated within local transport plans. It would not be appropriate to single out tidal flow over other traffic management measures. It is for local highway authorities to consider the full range of traffic management options in developing their local transport plans.

Trunk Roads (Essex/Hertfordshire)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the major trunk roads in (a) Essex and (b) Hertfordshire; what new trunk roads are planned in each county in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Trunk roads in Essex and Hertfordshire are as follows:
	(a) Essex
	M11 J4–J9
	M25 Herts/Essex border to J31
	A12: M25/J28 to Essex/Suffolk border
	A13/A1089: A1306 Junction to Dock gate at Tilbury
	A120: M11 J8 to A12 J25
	A120: A12 J28 (Crown Interchange) to Harwich
	(b) Hertfordshire
	M1 J4–J10
	M10: M1 J7 to St. Albans
	M25: J16-Herts/Essex border
	A1(M): J1–J10
	A5: M1J9-Bedfordshire border
	A10: M25 J25-Herts/Cambs border
	No new trunk roads are planned for Essex and/or Hertfordshire.
	The Government's Targeted Programme of Improvements includes the following trunk road schemes in Essex and Hertfordshire:
	M1: J6a to 10 widening to dual 4 lane motorway
	M25: J16–31 widening to dual 4 lane motorway
	M25: J28/Brook Street Interchange.
	The Highways Agency has also been asked to do further work on the following scheme in Essex and bring forward proposals to be considered for entry into the Targeted Programme of Improvements:
	M11: J8–9 widening to dual 3 lane motorway.
	Following the Government's announcement on 21 July 2005 on Regional Funding Allocations, decisions on the entry of the following trunk road schemes into the Targeted Programme of Improvements will be made following advice from the region on their priorities for major transport schemes:
	A12: M25 to Chelmsford widening
	A12: Chelmsford to Colchester widening
	A120: Braintree to Marks Tey dualling.

Vehicle Registration

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars are registered for use on English roads.

Stephen Ladyman: At the end of March 2005, there were 23,295,000 cars registered to keepers resident in England.